Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Solidarity)

This shows part of the problem with the changes the Minister is making to the Bill. When he says that the Department is not going to carry out investigations or be intrusive, I do not mean any offence but the Department does carry out investigations into other aspects of social welfare.

We debated a lot of the issues in the groupings of amendments. I am a bit perplexed as to why the parties of marriage are not in here jumping up and down, parties like Aontú and Independent Ireland. They have not opened their mouth in this entire debate, which is a bit surprising because this is undermining marriage, if one likes, as per the point about the previous amendment. This was said by FLAC for example. Assurances were given to people before the divorce referendum that there would not be any impoverishment of women. Do Members remember the big threat that was made? I remember the divorce referendum. It was said that women would be turfed out of their houses. We have an example of that now. Somebody who may have been abandoned, for example, a victim of domestic violence, who was separated – perhaps not even by their own choice - but who had children with an individual will be in a much worse situation as a result of this change. The likes of Aontú and the Christian gang are not even in here making a peep about it. I just thought that was interesting.

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