Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I agree with the remarks of Deputies Burton and O'Connell on amendments Nos. 43, 43a and 43b. When the amendments arose on Committee Stage, there were repeated references to the United States and the United Kingdom as if we did not have a Constitution and the right to make our own laws and put our own protections in place. Such protections have already been put in place. I stated at the time that I did not believe that the wording used in the amendments had been formulated by a Member of the House. It is my belief that they originate outside the House and have been cleverly worded to give rise to suspicions and to allow a sense of control, strength and power in a particular direction. As a modern society, we should have moved past that. There was and is no basis for it. It is insulting to the House for the amendments to be tabled again in the clear knowledge that they borrow from other jurisdictions. We have the right to make our own laws and are so doing and have done for many years. It is to be hoped that we will do so for many years to come.

Like many other speakers, I believe there is no place in the legislation for amendments which specifically target a large sector of society, give the impression that its members are not equal citizens and create the basis on which they can be treated as second-class citizens. That is a poor recognition of the role played by Irish women in public and private life and throughout every sphere of society.

It is terribly sad to think that, at this time in our development - the 21st-century - that people see fit to bring forward such appalling and restrictive amendments.

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