Jim Walsh (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Can I just finish on this point, namely, my concern about gay people, which has not come up yet? I am conscious of the fact that gay people have suffered the stigma and challenges of living in a society that is largely heteronormative. However, my concern is that gay people in same-sex couples are being encouraged to believe that complete sameness is achievable. It is not. There is a fundamental biological difference between same-sex and opposite-sex couples. That difference will remain. Encouraging gay people and same-sex couples to believe that full equivalence and sameness are achievable will cause more harm than good to them. I worry about that, because of the obvious natural differences, which will endure regardless of redefining marriage.