David Norris (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I would also like to add my congratulations to Tom McGrath. He has been much more successful than myself because he entered the House directly in 1977. That was the first year I ran and it took me another ten years to penetrate the sanctum of Leinster House. He is always helpful and courteous and never flustered.

I also welcome the Government's commitment to same-sex marriage and, in particular, I commend the Taoiseach. I very much welcome what he had to say because I did not know where he was. I was not sure whether he was sitting on the fence or was actively hostile to the idea but yesterday he said he would support it strongly. There could be nothing less ambiguous than that and he said he would be out campaigning for this. Approximately 80% of the members of the Constitutional Convention voted in favour of a referendum while a large majority of people according to consistent opinion polls think this should be done, and so it should. Somebody on the wireless said yesterday there were 79 differences between marriage and other partnerships. There are 179, with some less significant than others. I pay tribute to the role of Deputy Jerry Buttimer.

When I was involved in this issue a long time ago, it was very much on the margins. Now it is in the centre and it is terribly important that it is now a mainstream issue, which is taken up not by people like myself but by other people, gay and straight, who have progressive ideas and who understand the pain and difficulty of children, for example, in gay relationships.

With regard to the role of the bishops, they have every right to speak out. I have no difficulty whatever with that. I do wish, however, that they would talk a bit of sense sometimes and take a leaf out of Pope Francis's book. The suggestion that marriage will be devalued is absolute tripe. Coming from a group of people who are elderly, celibate, have no experience of marriage and presided over a system which was criminally dysfunctional with regard to the abuse of children, women and gay people, they should be more considered in what they say.

In respect of the Iona Institute, I would like somebody to tell me how it is funded, how it was set up and who its members are. It is a mysterious organisation that is somehow given some kind of credibility. It should, however, be completely discredited because time after time, on every single issue, it has misquoted and abused scientific papers and been reprimanded by the authors of those papers.

The Government's approach on this issue is very clever. The Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Alan Shatter, who is very astute, will be sent out to draw the fangs on the most contentious issues, after which a fairly bland proposal will be put through. It is a clever strategy.