Fiona O'Loughlin (Kildare South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

There is no doubt the reforming legislation introduced by Máire Geoghegan-Quinn 25 years ago was a watershed moment for gay people in Ireland who for far too long had been abused, stigmatised and isolated and were not treated as equal members of society. As a republican party, a commitment to fighting discrimination in all forms is a core value for Fianna Fáil. Our wish is to create a republic where everybody is equal and has a right to dignity. We are immensely proud of the road that Máire, with others, forged, at a difficult time, in a very different Ireland, although it was only 25 years ago. While paying tribute to Máire, the irrepressible Senator David Norris, and to Mary McAleese who co-founded the campaign for homosexual reform, I also pay tribute to the Irish mammies, parents, families and friends who got behind the campaign 25 years ago. While gay people were front and centre of the campaign, it was the support of family and friends who helped make it happen. I refer to mothers like Phil Moore who spoke mother to mother to Máire Geoghegan-Quinn because she could see the everyday acts of exclusion which her son endured and which were then part of our social fabric. It is fitting that mammies, daddies and families are remembered in the theme of his year's Pride festival which is "We Are Family".

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