Labhrás Ó Murchú (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I just get the feeling the Minister is wrestling with positions that had not come to his notice in the Dáil. That is what it is about. The more he speaks, the more he opens up possibilities. It is incumbent on us in this House that we take on the board the flexibility that is growing into this. The distance between the amendment and what the Minister is saying is getting less all the time. The only difficulty I see now for the Minister is that Dáil Éireann has gone home for the Christmas and the possibilities of recalling it are negligible.

If that obstacle did not exist, there would be a good possibility, based on what the Minister said, that he would be accepting this amendment. For that reason, if we cannot formalise it somewhat more, the possibility is that the amendment might be passed by the House.

The Minister is filling the role well for us. As he rightly said, he has sat here in the Seanad with us. I have never seen him being cynical about Seanad Éireann. If there were some way of bridging that distance between us, it would be certainly good for the Seanad. It would also be good for democracy.