Sean Barrett (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate the comments of the Minister and Senator Ó Clochartaigh. We must always be vigilant in our duties and obligations under the Good Friday Agreement and St. Andrews Agreement. Had this House been abolished last year, my constituents in Northern Ireland would never again have had a vote in the Oireachtas. Some were annoyed by this, but it did not happen. This is an example of how voting rights that were protected under those agreements and the 1937 Constitution could have been removed by a referendum in which those who had the voting rights were not entitled to vote, as they were in Northern Ireland and the referendum was only held in the Republic. They value their rights, which form part of a better tradition of the two parts of the island sharing a common heritage.

The debate between Senator Ó Clochartaigh and the Minister was important, in that we can sometimes inadvertently intrude on people's rights.

The Government speakers at that time appeared to be unaware that there were implications for Northern Ireland of the abolition of this House. While that is over and done with and the abolition did not happen, it shows that sometimes things can have inadvertent consequences. We want to preserve the best possible relations between the two parts of the island. The Government is to be commended on doing so. It is, as we all know, a 24-7 job. I will not be opposing the section.