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

The message we sent was a positive and welcoming one and I hope our tourism sector can build on it because there is economic potential.

In the Minister’s capacity as Minister for Justice and Equality, I hope she will work with other countries to bring equality. As long as we see inequality in parts of the world where people’s human rights are being denied, particularly people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender, we have a job to do. While we, in this country, may be putting the roof on our house, work will always remain to be done in the pursuit of equality. In many parts of the world there are people less fortunate than we are. As I said, I was in the Balkans last week, where they have made significant progress in some states. Although progress is being made, we have much work to do. While we may be happy today in our country, we must not lose our international outlook in working with our brothers and sisters who require and need our help. We must always be outward looking in how we approach the issue of rights for LGBT people.

In 2012, I had the pleasure of forming Fine Gael LGBT with a group of very dedicated people. I commend those people, whom I will not name. The Minister was the first Minister to speak at the inaugural event. It was because of those people within my party that we got major support across the board and I pay tribute to the members of Fine Gael LGBT. I never thought I would speak in a parliament welcoming such a Bill. Ironically, on this day in 1984, I entered St. Patrick's College, Maynooth as a seminarian. It just came into my head as I spoke, 23 September. On that day, Kerry beat Dublin. The roles have been reversed. It is ironic that, today, I can speak on the Bill as an openly gay Member of our Parliament, of Dáil Éireann. I am very proud of this and I commend the other Members of our Dáil and Seanad who are gay and lesbian because they have played a major role. I also thank all Members of the Dáil for their support, not just in the referendum but in the events up to it and since. For many in the Chamber it was a significant leap forward, a journey which many did not shirk. I commend them on it.

It is a fantastic piece of legislation, and is not just technical but very personal for many of us. The referendum result in May transformed people’s lives and gave them a new and different outlook and attitude about themselves. In a time when we speak about mental health, the referendum in May freed many people from the shackles of worry and concern about what people thought about them and how they would be treated. The Irish people across our country, in hundreds of thousands, who had never voted before, said “Yes” to marriage equality. What pleased me most was that we gave old and young, mothers and fathers, and grandparents the opportunity to say “Yes” and they did not let us down. The challenge for all of us in the political world is to listen to the people on social issues and engage with them.

I pay tribute to the former Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Shatter, whom we should mention today, for the role he played before leaving office. He was a significant player. We always say civil partnership was a “stepping stone”. It was probably the wrong term. It was what was available to those of us who wanted to get married at the time. Thankfully, it will enter the lexicon of history and we will have full and equal marriage.

Again, I thank the people involved in Yes Equality, without whom we would not be here today. They mobilised and supported people, travelled the country and made it personal. The referendum campaign was an opportunity for people to tell their stories, and that is what happened. It was a telling of a story that had a ripple effect that challenged the perception and the notion, and that gave people the opportunity to vote “Yes” to change our world for the better. I commend the Bill and thank the Minister for her work. I look forward to its being enacted and to the first marriage in our country which we will celebrate as a new and better Republic in which we are all free to be who we are.

See this speech in context