Lisa McDonald (Fianna Fail)

A couple of red herrings have been thrown into this debate. One of them concerns the opt-out clause for conscientious objectors or a register of people who do not wish to officiate at ceremonies for two gay people. It has also been suggested that if a gay couple want to hold their wedding breakfast in a parish hall, the local church leaders should be able to refuse them. This would be a very dangerous amendment to introduce because it would create a moral hazard. Regardless of what we may personally believe, we should not introduce such a clause. I could give many examples of objections to coloured people or Travellers. The Equal Status Act 2004 is the place for those who want to amend the law to allow for conscientious objectors. This State cannot support dressed up bigotry, which is what it is. We cannot allow civil servants to pick and choose which part of their job they will perform.

There is a lacuna in the Bill in respect of the biological children of same-sex couples. If something happens to the partner who is the biological parent of a child, the child will be left in a lacuna. I accept the Minister's assurances that he will examine this issue and introduce legislation to deal with it. This should be done as quickly as possible. Perhaps we will be in a position to adopt stronger legislation in this regard following the constitutional amendment on children. We cannot have "Children of a Lesser God" in society or allow little children to believe they are second best or not equal to the person sitting beside them in school.