Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)

I thank all Members for their contributions. It has been said that the legislation is rushed, but people have been thinking about this for a long time. We have had a commitment to do this since we negotiated the programme for Government. We said we would do it on the basis of the report of the all-party Joint Committee on the Constitution, which has been in the public domain since January. Before the summer, I wrote to the spokespersons of all Opposition parties, including the Technical Group, and the Cathaoirleach outlining the draft amendment. I invited any Opposition person who wished to receive a briefing over the summer. One party, the Fianna Fáil Party, took up that offer, and was briefed. I wrote again at the end of the summer to those who had not taken up the offer, again offering a briefing, and eventually all parties were briefed. This is a process that has been going on for a while. The net issues, although they are big, are not all that complex. We can talk about them forever, but people need to make up their minds.

I will deal with Senator Mullen's amendment. As I said in my Second Stage speech, I respect the Senator's viewpoint, his analytical ability and his perspective. His contribution is important, because these matters must be teased out properly. I was slightly taken aback by some of the phrases used by Senator Mullen; for example, he said that I failed to understand the complexity of the issue.