Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Tá áthas orm deis a bheith agam labhairt ar an ábhar tábhachtach seo. I congratulate the Minister and her predecessor on the excellent work they have done in steering the referendum to a successful conclusion and in now presenting this legislation before us in such a timely manner. I also pay tribute to my colleague, Deputy John Lyons, who was the standard bearer for the Labour Party and did an excellent job, and to Deputy Jerry Buttimer, from the Minister's party, who was in the front line and who also did an excellent job in leading the charge.

No other referendum and certainly no other election of any description of which I am aware or was involved in brought about so much joy, enthusiasm and pride throughout the length and breadth of Ireland. Indeed, as was noted, it was not just people the length and breadth of Ireland, but so many people came from abroad to cast their vote. They wanted to determine the future of Irish society and play their small part in ensuring that Ireland had a more egalitarian approach and that our society would benefit from a "Yes" vote and from marriage equality. In my own constituency, the organisation by "Yes Equality" was superb. Those involved worked night and day throughout Cabra, Dublin 7 and the inner city to secure a "Yes" vote. It was a pleasure to work hand in glove with them on the referendum campaign.

The Labour Party has been to the forefront in supporting and advancing progressive social policies. In the 1980s, the then Minister for Health, Deputy Barry Desmond, liberalised the availability of contraception. In the 1990s, the Labour Party in government decriminalised homosexuality and initiated a referendum that allowed divorce to be introduced. In 2010, we were the first to push for the introduction of civil partnerships. This Government has advanced the cause further. For many years, previous Governments failed to legislate for the X case - for 20 years, in fact. However, this Government ensured that the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act was passed in 2013. Moreover, gender recognition legislation has also been passed. Now, here we are, in the context of the marriage equality referendum, coming to the final step with the implementation of the Marriage Bill.

We have consistently been a socially progressive party since the foundation of the State and have always endeavoured to expand the scope of personal freedom and relationships in the face of quite rigid and regressive traditional religious and cultural values, which were very restrictive on the lives of our people. We do not need to go back over so many of those issues that curtailed and damaged the lives and the health of people because of the manner in which our closed society operated for so long. It is important that as we approach the centenary of 1916 that we remember not just the phrase "cherishing all of the children of the nation equally", as espoused in the Proclamation, but also that "The Republic guarantees religious and civil liberty, equal rights and equal opportunities to all its citizens, and declares its resolve to pursue the happiness and prosperity of the whole nation and of all its parts". That is a very important clause in the Proclamation. Much has been done since 1916, when women did not have the right to vote, for example. It is now fitting that in 2015 we will ensure that all our citizens enjoy the same rights and are treated equally under our Constitution.

I attended a civil partnership ceremony last month. It was a very joyful event. I am glad to see that under this legislation the couple will be able to marry one another without having to dissolve their civil partnership.

I am also pleased that a marriage contracted abroad between two persons of the same sex will be recognised as a marriage in Ireland from the commencement date of the legislation. I am delighted that section 23 removes the requirement in the Gender Recognition Act that a person seeking a gender recognition certificate must be single, thus removing the single status requirement. These are all progressive developments.

All in all, we have a done a good day's work. A good many months' work went into preparing the Bill and bringing it to this pass. It is great that all corners of the House are expressing approval for the referendum and the legislation. It was also wonderful to note the number of people who voted in the referendum. It is sometimes said that residents of working class areas tend to be conservative in their social values. In the marriage equality referendum, people in working class areas came out stronger in favour of the proposal than people in middle class areas. This was one of the unique aspects of the referendum.

The outcome of the referendum reflects the fact that citizens are often a step ahead of legislators. Let us move ahead and further broaden the scope of society. The purpose of all legislation is to improve the quality of life of those whom we have been elected to represent.

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