Jerry Buttimer (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I compliment the Minister and commend her for successfully piloting this Bill through the House today but, more importantly, for her work prior to the referendum. It is appropriate this morning that we pay tribute to the men and women of the Yes Equality campaign who are in the Gallery. These are people who have for a long time worked to bring the referendum to the people.

The Minister, in her speech, stated that the Bill was giving effect to the vote of the people, and that is what we just did. Four short, but seemingly long, months ago the Irish people voted after a campaign the likes of which was not seen before in any type of referendum or political campaign and that is a tribute to everybody who was involved in the Yes campaign. We will not engage in revisionism or re-fight the referendum today, but all of us could read out a letter, such as Deputy Mac Lochlainn's, because the referendum empowered people. The referendum gave people a licence from within to be free, to be who they were.

I suppose it was encapsulated by Ursula Halligan in her remarks during the referendum campaign about herself. For those of us involved in public life there is a certain element of us signing up for it, but if I could, I will pay tribute to Ursula Halligan for her courageous bravery in a key part of the campaign. When we hear about standards in journalism, this was a women, in my opinion, who was absolutely brave, and I commend her on the floor of this House.

The Minister, in her remarks, makes reference to the new provision in Article 41. Is it not fantastic that we can have a new provision within the Constitution? Next year, we will celebrate the centenary of the Rising. This year, the Irish people have had their own rising, awakening and empowerment, and by their vote they have said "Yes" to each one of us. That is why this referendum was so important and that is why this Bill is critically important.

It may be a technical Bill but it means so much more to many of us because it is about our lives and the quality of the lives that we all share. One hears about people shattering glass ceilings and about reaching to the highest offices in a part of the world etc., but if one were to reflect on the period since we decriminalised homosexuality to today, there has been a considerable change in the attitude and culture of the Irish people toward those of us who are gay, lesbian, transgender and bisexual. One need only look at what we achieved in the calendar year of 2015 - the Gender Recognition Act, the Children and Family Relationships Act 2015 and marriage equality.

Last week I happened to be in the Balkans where I had the pleasure of speaking in the Serbian Parliament in Belgrade. The sense of Ireland amongst people there because of this vote has increased 100%. I was in the company of many people. Mr. Brian Sheehan, who is involved with ILGA-Europe, is here in the Gallery and he knows much more than I do about the struggle and fight of many to bring change across the world. Those people engaged in a struggle are uplifted by what we have done. It is not about the politicians. It is about the people involved in Yes Equality, Marriage Equality, GLEN, LGBT Noise - all the groups coming together to form one concerted unified voice.

I was struck during the course of the referendum campaign, as the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Coveney, and I stood at the College of Commerce bridge in Cork, by the engagement of people. Whether pro or anti, they were engaged. The referendum was a demonstration of political engagement that, I hope, many of us can replicate in other social issues and other issues of importance. As for what the referendum did, I use the word "empowered" at lot. Having canvassed nearly every night with people who were never involved in any type of political process previously, after the first night they got into the referendum campaign and enjoyed it, and it gave them a licence but it also gave them a sense of civic duty.

I suppose one of my nicest moments in the referendum was seeing, at almost a minute to closing time on polling night, a young man sprinting in to vote having had to go through an arduous bus journey. Having had to take a difficult route because of a car crash, he got there. He sprinted, and leapt in the door. That is what it meant.

It meant grandparents and parents, in many cases for the first time, had a conversation with their child, grandchild or family member. I do not want to relive the campaign, but the opponents of the referendum did not understand that this was about people. It was about humanity.

The Pope is in America today and he is meeting President Obama, and he is, hopefully, engaging in a changing of the church's attitude. The Minister makes reference to the issue of religious solemnisation in the Bill. I hope - I want to use this Chamber today - to extend an invitation to the hierarchy of the church, in particular, the Catholic Church, to meet those of us in the LGBT community and to engage with us in a dialogue that is meaningful and real because this is about the lives of people. It is not about a church teaching or about State versus religion. It is about the lives of all of us. I hope Archbishop Martin, as the Primate of Ireland in Armagh, will engage and I invite him to, and I will write to him after today to do that. It is important as we move to an Ireland that is a gentler and friendlier society that we have real engagement.

It would be remiss of me if I did not make reference to Yes Equality people in Cork.

They ran a phenomenal campaign. It motivated and inspired a whole new range of people to become involved in civic society and I commend them on it. It is extraordinary that in this Chamber today we are debating a Bill that arises from a referendum result to allow all of us to get married. The Taoiseach, in his Ard-Fheis remarks in Castlebar and during the course of the campaign, and the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Frances Fitzgerald, today, mentioned 17 words. That is all it is: "Marriage may be contracted in accordance with law by two persons without distinction as to their sex". That is what it is.

In the course of the Minister's remarks, she referred to section 16 in terms of the Succession Act. I have received a number of pieces of correspondence regarding it around the issue of section 67A of the Succession Act, about which some people have concerns regarding people who are gay. I will pass the information to the Minister. There are issues she might examine. Although I am not a qualified expert in it, some of the people who have contacted me are and I will be happy to pass the information on to the Minister after the debate to see whether she and her officials see any merit in the suggestions being proposed.

Ireland's position in the world has changed as a consequence of the vote. While we are a small nation, in that last week of May we had a huge heart and shone brightly across the world. I was in America during the summer, where the Supreme Court made its decision, and they were still in awe that the Irish people, in their eyes a conservative nation, would have voted in such numbers for marriage equality.

The Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Tourism, and Sport, Deputy Ring, was here earlier and was getting worked up about the Wild Atlantic Way.

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