David Norris (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am grateful to have an opportunity to contribute in this debate and strongly regret that I was not in a position to speak on Second Stage. With no disrespect to the House, the reason was that I had been invited to make a contribution to the annual conference of the International Bar Association. I considered it useful for practitioners of law to hear from someone who, even in a minor way, plays a role in the development of legislation, as Senators are doing today. As the Minister will know from her time in the House when she was leader of the Opposition for a time, the Seanad plays a useful role in the legislative process.

I am profoundly grateful, both as a Member of the Oireachtas and a citizen, that this Minister is in charge of the referendum. She gave a very good demonstration of precisely why she is the right person for this role in the answer she provided and to which I was privileged to listen. It was detailed, clear and coherent and was given without reference to notes. She is clearly in charge of her brief, knows what she is talking about and deals in a courteous and civilised way with what might very well have been a contentious matter in the past. I also pay tribute to Archbishop Diarmuid Martin. It was extremely helpful of him to speak in a manner that suggested that in his view and from the point of view of the Roman Catholic Church, there is nothing dangerous in the proposal. He does not appear to have any difficulty in giving the proposal his general support. In the past, this section and the type of amendments we are discussing could have been explosive.