Joe O'Toole (Independent)

I regret the passing of this Bill. The debate has been important. I thank the Minister of State and his officials for their full and committed engagement with the arguments as we proceeded. It is crucial to have such engagement when legislating. There are issues more of a political and policy nature than of a drafting nature that need to be considered. Unlike Senator Mansergh, I hope that any adjustments to the Bill would not be left for months and years. There is another opportunity in the Dáil next week. Some of the arguments made here should sink in, particularly those relating to the two groups we discussed. I will not reopen that argument.

The significant point related to age. As social circumstances and life expectancy are now different, change is needed. However, the manner of the implementation with a one size fits all approach does not work. It will have to be changed in the future and rather than leave bits of business to successive generations, we should make the changes now to allow it to work.