Martin Conway (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I, too, welcome the Minister to the House. This is a very good day for politics in the country and certainly a very good day for the Seanad. I have always believed that when legislation that makes sense is proposed by anybody in the House, is the right thing to do and makes a difference to the citizens we represent, we all have a responsibility to engage with it in a mature fashion. Those who have listened to Senator Power's personal testimony about the journey she has travelled could not be but moved by it, and also by the passion, belief and integrity with which she has articulated her story. During a local radio interview, I was asked recently to identify somebody on the Opposition benches that I most admired. Without hesitation, I said Senator Averil Power because she is what I would describe as a total breath of fresh air in politics. I join her in asking the Minister to progress this legislation through the Dáil. The only House we can answer for, however, is the Seanad. We can only hope that the Dáil will do the right thing. The Seanad has done so today.

I wish the legislation well in Dáil Éireann. I sincerely hope it receives the same enthusiastic response there that it has received here. I commend Senator Power on bringing the legislation forward. Doing so is what we are here for. We are here to do the right thing for the people. The legislation will assist the thousands of people who do not know who their natural parents are. That is what we are here for, and that is what we have done.