Hildegarde Naughton (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I feel great empathy for those who find themselves in this impossible situation. Senator Norris outlined the human impact of this as described in that e-mail which we all received. As legislators, however, we need to be mindful of the legal advice we have been given here, which is that this legislation could prove to be unconstitutional. There is little point in putting legislation onto the Statute Book that would later be deemed unconstitutional.

When I spoke during the Second Stage debate I raised the issue of a sunset clause. As others have already said, the elephant in the room is the forthcoming marriage equality referendum. We will all be out there campaigning for that and I hope we get a positive outcome. In that context, is there the possibility of putting a sunset clause in place now, at this point, pending the outcome of the referendum? That would go some way towards easing peoples' concerns. Also, the fact that we have unanimously agreed on a review of this legislation might come into play further down the line. I ask the Minister of State to outline his views on the issue of a sunset clause.