Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

-----but rather the working class areas of Ballymun, Ballyfermot and the south inner city. As the results from these areas came in, we saw the results of both referendums tipping in a positive direction.

I welcome Deputy Madigan's Bill, although I agree with Deputy Coppinger that it should probably be amended. Prior to the Russian Revolution in 1917, it was legal in Russia for men to beat up their wives. One of the first acts of the revolutionary workers' government was to legalise divorce and abortion. The pro-life movement and Catholic Church, including the bishop to whom I referred, told us the sky would fall in and the fabric of society would crumble if we allowed divorce. In their view, we had to hold together the family, which meant mammy, daddy and 2.5 children. Society's view of how families should function has changed utterly since that time. One of the posters used by the anti-divorce side in the referendum campaign featured the slogan "Hello Divorce, Bye Bye Daddy". The sky did not fall in when divorce was introduced but it is falling in now for many families because of the crisis in housing to which Deputy Coppinger referred.

A very good friend of mine recently took the deliberate decision to retire early from her full-time job in Women's Aid. The reason she did so was that she could not stand another day of going to court with women who were forced back into abusive relationships because nowhere could be found to house them. This is happening every day in the courts. Not only are people returning to relationships where there is no love but they and their children are being violently abused on a daily basis. As I stated, my friend retired early to get away from the depressing reality of having to do this to families.

Divorce must be available when people want it, rather than after two years. While I welcome the move to advance this issue, an amendment to the Bill is probably needed. Personal morality and control over one's life and relationships are fundamentally important and people must have a grip on them. They cannot be forced to live in unhappy or oppressive circumstances. For this reason, we are determined that a referendum on the eighth amendment should be put to the people. This is the 21st century and generations of Irish people have not yet had a say or vote on these issues. If we were to have a revolution in Ireland - God willing, we will have one - we must deliver the separation of church and State and deliver a society, including education and health services, which is not dictated by the religious or spiritual values held by one group. Having a truly secular society that is literally divorced from the church is an important ambition for future generations.

One of the reasons for our relatively low rate of divorce is that Ireland is riven by economic crises. People tend to avail of legal separation because divorce is expensive, cumbersome and difficult. A much more liberal divorce regime is required and I welcome Deputy Madigan's attempt to achieve this objective.

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