Brian Hayes (Fine Gael)

Senator White is welcome back. Her colleagues will have great interest in the issue of fidelity to the nation and loyalty to the State.

I welcome the Minister and thank him for being present for the debate. My basic objection to the Bill is that I would have preferred that this matter would have been looked at by an all-party committee before legislation was considered. That would have been the best approach to maximise consensus on the issue. Too often in the past we have rushed into constitutional referenda and have seen the net effect in the courts some years later. We should be aware that on many occasions when the Supreme Court has given judgment on a variety of issues that come before the courts, it has asked the legislators to legislate. It has asked us to ensure that the law is in place, rather than the Supreme Court producing the law. I am aware of many cases where the justices of the Supreme Court have said that. Our job is to introduce legislation in both Houses of the Oireachtas. The way in which the Minister has approached this issue is not the correct way. It would have been better to have produced the legislation, put it through both Houses and have it tested in the courts.