Colm Keaveney (Galway East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I agree with the Minister of State that this is a significant amendment and we will support it.

I would anticipate that there is nowhere in this legislation that the Minister of State would expressly provide for the effecting of consent around marriage, civil partnership, civil relationships, placing children for adoption, any sexual relations, or voting on election days. We had the Electoral (Amendment) Bill for people who had visual disability. We hope and anticipate that over the course of the next week we will see some movement on that, in that the Electoral (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill is scheduled to be discussed either this week or next week; I stand to be corrected on that.

We welcome and support the amendment. The Minister's language shows us how barbaric our past was in this respect. I would say to people who have concerns about the legislation that although it may not be perfect, it is a giant step away from where we have been in our past in terms of our dark history, so it is important that we progress the legislation in its in entirety. In particular, I welcome the fact that the Minister has made a significant step in helping to close a dark chapter around language, which could only indicate a darkness around actions. It is important that we progress the Bill and fundamentally support the spirit in which the Minister has amended the legislation.

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