Martin Mansergh (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister and this important and enlightened legislation in which he is entitled to take some pride. It is a tribute and a positive reflection on the officials of the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform who are sometimes unfairly impugned in this House. The Department has changed a great deal since the 1960s and 1970s. I had the privilege of working with many of its officials during negotiations on the peace process. I hold the Department in high regard as, if I may be parochial, do the people of Tipperary who look forward to welcoming some of its staff and branches in due course.