Martin Conway (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister for Justice and Equality to the House. Twice this week, I have stood up to agree wholeheartedly with Senator Power. That is the way politics should be in this country. I appreciated her testimonial and contribution on what is a ground-breaking Bill. The referendum which will follow this will be ground-breaking too. I have no doubt the Minister is very proud to put this legislation through the Houses and to see a successful referendum result. I can remember as a young fellow admiring the work she did when she was involved in the Council for the Status of Women. It was the same way that I admired Senator Norris in the late 1980s when he took Ireland to the European Court of Human Rights over the fact that homosexuality was still a criminal offence and won. As a result, in 1993 a Fianna Fáil female Minister - another important point to note - decriminalised homosexuality. Now we have a female justice Minister presiding over the most important referendum we will have in this country in a long time, notwithstanding the importance of the 2012 children's referendum. What this referendum will do for equality will put Ireland on the world stage. As has been pointed out, we will be the first country to pass this legislation by a referendum of the people as opposed to the few, which will make a very profound statement. Obviously, we have much work to do between now and then and it is important to ensure we win.

There are people like some of us in the House who are dedicated to equality and will be campaigning for a “Yes” vote. There are others, for their own reasons, who will be voting “No”. There are people who will be influenced by the campaign, how it is conducted and will certainly form a significant portion of voters. The people who will ensure this referendum gets over the line will know people in their own families, their social circles or at work who are gay but are being denied the basic equality of the right to marry.

I look at our workplace here and the leaders we have. I have already spoken about Senator Norris, the first openly gay Member of the Oireachtas, who campaigned tirelessly for equality. I am sure he will be delighted when he sees this referendum getting over the line. There is our other colleague, Senator Zappone, the first female gay Member of the Oireachtas. She achieved much in her career before she came into the Oireachtas. She was a leader in society and continues to be one as a Member of Seanad Éireann. We have had our colleague Senator Eamonn Coughlan’s powerful testimonial over the past several weeks of the journey he, his son and his family have had to make in this regard. If people are not moved by these stories and experiences, I do not know what will persuade them.

In the other House, we had the Minister for Health, Deputy Varadkar, the first senior Minister to come out and openly discuss his sexuality, something which must have been very difficult. Those of us who know the Minister know him to be a very fine, capable public representative and a leader in society but also a very private person. I have known Leo Varadkar for the past 25 years and know he is a private person who protects his privacy. However, he felt a duty to other people, particularly the young person he listened to on “Liveline”, who felt he had no choice but to leave the country. Leo did the right thing and we are all extremely proud of what he did. I heard the interview he did with Miriam O’Callaghan live and it was exceptionally moving. Deputy Jerry Buttimer, another leader and great character, is doing enormous work to get this referendum over the line. There are Deputies Dominic Hannigan and John Lyons, two amazing people and representatives.

I am also most proud of Pat Carey, the former Minister of State. He was someone who I admired as he was prepared to go on television and late-night radio in the dying days of the last Government when many Ministers ran for cover to explain, as best he could, the reasons certain decisions were made. While I did not always agree with him, I always admired him.

If my workplace, the Houses of the Oireachtas, is anything to go by, I have no doubt the decency shown by gay Members is reflected in every other workplace. My message to the people is if one wants straight politics vote gay. Any of the gay people I know are as straight as one will get.