Paul Bradford (Fine Gael)

I support Senators' comments and look forward to the Minister's response to the amendment. The amendment provides us with useful debating space. The purpose of any legislation or proposed change is to improve the situation, in this case, children's lot in life. In our efforts to bring about improvement, we must not cause further difficulties or doubts. For this reason, our debate on reasonable excuse is interesting. We may not be able to resolve the issue raised by Senator van Turnhout today, but it is worthy of serious consideration. As Senator Hayden stated, we cannot legislate with our eyes shut. We must take note of problems. We are not meant to impose or propose a moral or code of the best way to live. We are supposed to try to put in place a law that works and can be used to protect children. At a minimum, will the Minister try to take the spirit of Senator van Turnhout's suggestion on board? There will be a short amount of time before Report Stage in which we can reflect further. I will be interested in the Minister's initial observation, as the amendment raises a genuine issue. We must deal with it in the best possible way. I would be interested in the Minister's expert response to our amateur efforts in this regard.