Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

No. This is an independent body. It is not appropriate for any Minister, even one as junior as me, to give any missile of instruction to the Referendum Commission. It is more than capable of doing its job, with experience built up over the years. It is a sign of the Government's intent on this issue that when the legislation was published on 6 June, we appointed the Referendum Commission that day for the purposes of this referendum to make sure, as its members stated independently that they needed time, that they would have the time. I presume the Referendum Commission will have regard to and note the comments colleagues make on this issue but it is not appropriate to tell-----