Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank all Members of the House who contributed to this debate and in particular for the very broad acknowledgement of the work done by my colleague in the other House, Senator Bacik, who, I think, has an extraordinary reputation not only on this issue but on a wide range of areas in advancing gender equality the equality agenda and human rights in this country. I appreciate the kind words of other Members of the House on that.

This issue is a real and present one. If there is anything that has come from the contribution of every Member it is that this is an issue that must be addressed and resolved. As we said in the explanatory memorandum of the Bill, this is not a silver bullet or a curative measure but it is a mechanism to understand the nature and scale of the problem and more important the location of the problem so that we can provide a solution to it. It has gone on for 17 months. We cannot delay this further and continue discrimination for longer, and no matter what way the Minister of State dresses it up, that is the impact and import of what he told the House today.

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