Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I speak today on behalf of Andrew McGinley, one of my constituents. Last year, Andrew tragically lost his three beautiful children, Conor, Darragh and Carla. I was among the hundreds who gathered outside Rathcoole Church to pay my respects on the loss of these three young lives. The outpouring of community grief was like nothing I had seen before. The heartache was like nothing I had experienced before. The sight of three white coffins is something which will haunt all of us who were there.

I do not know how Andrew got through his eulogy. In it, he promised his children that their lives would never be forgotten and they absolutely have not been. One of our local crèche in Rathcoole, the Happy Feet Early Learning Centre, has honoured the memory of Carla and her sense of imagination and creativity through a playground which it has called Carla's Kingdom. Andrew has honoured Conor's memory through his social media channel, Conor's Clips, which shows the fun, the love and the light that his three children brought to this world.

There is so much more that Andrew wants to do to honour their memories and he has big plans which he will announce on Darragh's birthday. However, the current laws on reporting stop Andrew from speaking the names of his children in the media. Andrew has described being in that unthinkable situation. He said that the pain of not being able to talk publicly about his own children has been almost as painful as the circumstances of their deaths. Let us just think about that for a moment. Andrew does not believe that the law intends to cause pain, and I do not think any of us here believe that either. The reality, however, is that it has done exactly that. It is crystal clear that this law needs to be changed. I thank the Minister for making this happen. I also thank Deputy Jim O'Callaghan and Senator McDowell for all they have done on this issue as well. This Bill will change things. It will change things for Andrew and all those in his position, for his children and other children, for all those who deserve to remember and all those who deserve to be remembered.

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