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

I attended a civil partnership in Christchurch in Cork city. It is absolutely beautiful. It is an old church. The Acting Chairman, Deputy Keating, sings in a choir and is a musician. The atmosphere at this wonderful venue was befitting of the occasion. We changed the ceremony venue from being in the registry office.

I would like to speak about the context of what we have done as a country and as a State. We have extended the right to marry to all of us. As I said earlier, we are no longer locked out. The Saturday issue that has been mentioned means that in some cases, people have to go to the registry office during the week to get married, or in the past civil partnered, on their own with their witnesses before having their public celebrations on the Saturday. This brings me back to the point that has been made about hotels. I am not flying the flag for the hotel industry. I am talking about the actual ceremony. For the couple involved, it is probably the most important day of their lives. We need to be creative in the context of this amendment. I am not quite sure I would be happy to provide for peace commissioners to take on this role. I mean no disrespect to any of the peace commissioners I know, one of whom is my father, when I say that. I think the registrar is the person in question.

Deputy McNamara has raised a very valid point that needs to be responded to. He has spoken about freedom from religion. I know the Catholic Church has its own rules and regulations. We still have the view, which we expressed during the campaign, that it is not about being able to get married in a church. The Church of Ireland has a different view in some cases. One of the most extraordinary exponents of the referendum was Bishop Colton in Cork. Would it not be great if he or others could do this? That is a different argument. I think we need to see whether we can expand on the argument that Deputy McNamara has presented.

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