Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

There is no issue with the deletion of sexist language. If there was, this would have been resolved a long time ago. The Deputy is a person of some capacity in the legal world and understands the complexities of this. It is not as simple as she has stated. The various wordings that have come forward need rigorous assessment from a constitutional perspective. The balance between the fundamental principles that we enshrine in the Constitution and policy and legislative work of the Parliament and the Executive has to be struck. There has been fairly intensive work under way interdepartmentally but also at Cabinet sub-committee level, with the sub-committee on social affairs working on this with advice from the Office of the Attorney General. Amending the Constitution is a fundamental piece of work. It can be quite complex in itself. We need to get it right. Work is proceeding on that basis.

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