Rónán Mullen (Independent) | Oireachtas source

It is very interesting that the Minister made reference to the constitutionally recognised marital family and proceeded to state the amendment went completely against the spirit of the legislation. It does go against the spirit of the legislation because the latter is all wrong from the point of view of respecting children's rights. I wonder, however, whether it goes against the spirit of the Constitution which recognises the family based on marriage.

The Minister referred to the amendment being problematic in terms of public policy. To what public policy is she referring? Is it the Government's agenda to denigrate the special relationship between a father and a mother and their child? The Minister referred to her concern about the possible clash between the amendment - were it to be taken on board and included in the legislation - and the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights. She had nothing to say, however, about the spirit of the Constitution, as it stands. That sticks out a mile. There is a willingness to consider international trends of law when it suits us, but there is no willingness to take account of what might be required in terms of either the letter or the spirit of the Constitution. Nor is there a willingness to put any flesh on those words contained in the Constitution to the effect that "The State pledges itself to guard with special care the institution of Marriage, on which the Family is founded". In the context of the legislation before us, it is difficult to imagine what the Minister thinks these words mean.

Senator Jim Walsh is right to insist that there is a body of evidence which vindicates the view that there is a special validity and complementarity to what mothers and fathers can bring to their children's lives. None of this is to denigrate all of the love, care and concern for best interests in families, regardless of how they are constituted. Nobody has ever denigrated this. However, we refuse to accept the Minister's one-size-fits-all approach. Perhaps it might be more accurately characterised as an "every-size-fits-one" approach. It is she who is willfully blind to the body of evidence which states fathers and mothers each bring something distinct to parenting. My amendment seeks to underline that point. It is regrettable that, in the context of the means by which we are going to allow donor-assisted human reproduction to be legal and will facilitate clinics which provide it, two core requirements were not insisted on in order to minimise the incursion into children's rights. These requirements are, of course, that - in the light of what the evidence shows - there be a father and a mother in all instances and that they be married to each other. The Minister has indicated that the position is evolving. What she is referring to in that regard is an evolving position in the context of policy and law rather than what constitutes best practice.