Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Ceann Comhairle. I shall make the point nonetheless and hope the Minister will reply. The word "teaghlach", which is incorporated within the amendment to which we are speaking, means "household" as well as "family". If it is interpreted as "household", these terms may be read quite differently by the courts compared with the English terms that are before us. That point is worth making, and I invite the Minister to respond to it. Unfortunately, there will be little time for him to reply to all the points that have been made by members of the Opposition. We will not have limited further opportunity, other than Committee Stage, to discuss the Bill. That is why again I refer to the fact that the Government using its majority to abandon the well-established parliamentary procedure of pre-legislative scrutiny is very regrettable in this instance.

The Minister has left hostages to fortune in the context of this referendum. If a referendum is to succeed, it is important that those among all the stakeholders, including the Opposition, who wish it to succeed must have a belief in the words that are being promulgated by way of the amendment to the Constitution. Right now, the jury is out on that issue. We will reserve our position until Committee Stage, subject to amendments that we will propose.

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