Michael McCarthy (Labour)

I second the amendment. In the interests of clarity, there are also five more names following that of Senator Bannon on this amendment. I note what the Minister of State said in his contribution on Committee Stage and there was a good debate on this issue. There is a particular exclusion in this section of the Bill which we believe to be discriminatory and not inclusive. It is contrary to the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in the Karner case which was eloquently expounded on Committee Stage.

There have been significant advances in equality legislation. Ireland ranks as one of the leading states in Europe in terms of equality legislation passed. It would be a retrograde step to seem to be excluding any particular category of persons from this section of the Bill and it is not the right thing to do. I recognise the difficulties inherent in accepting this amendment and I do not expect it will be accepted. However, it is important that the case is advanced at this stage of the Bill. I appreciate there is a belief that this issue could be debated in some other context. I reiterate those points to the Minister of State. I know he is a fair-minded individual and I am aware of the difficulties faced in accepting this amendment. I urge him to think on what was said on Committee Stage and consider an alternative method for giving rights to all categories of people. This is about equality for everyone and not just one particular section. I appeal to the Minister of State to bear that in mind when considering this amendment.