Thomas Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

-----the High Sheriff will suppress such insolent practices with a posse [Senator Norris can be in the posse] and apprehend the principal actors in the said riot and have them prosecuted with the most rigorous of the law."

The legislation will remove this from the Statute Book, and I am very glad of it. All joking aside, these were very difficult times for the Roman Catholic population of the country and it would be very unwise of us to forget it. It would also be very unwise of Roman Catholics to forget it in the context of the possible oppression of other people, which has sometimes happened in our history when the Roman Catholic Church got too much power. The objective should be to have tolerance and respect for all different faiths, which certainly did not exist during the Penal Laws. Also of considerable local interest would be the provision in the legislation which continues two orders from 1781 regarding the Conyngham family, the family of Lord Henry Mountcharles. Lord Henry will be glad to hear his name is safe with the Minister.

There is an amazing amount of history in these laws. There are proclamations issued in counties Antrim, Cork, Meath, Clare, Westmeath and Tipperary instructing Tories, robbers and rapparees to surrender to the authorities. There is also an order promising a pardon to anyone involved in the theft and fire at a house on the estate of the Lord Bishop of Meath. I presume it refers to the Church of Ireland Bishop of Meath, who is a very respected lady and an excellent Bishop. Anybody who robs or burns her house will no longer be pardoned if this legislation is passed.

We support the legislation. It is part of a programme of work that was started when we were in government and we are delighted to see the Government continuing with it. It should not take up too much of our parliamentary time and I hope the work will continue. It has been a long but very necessary piece of work. This year, I hope to attend the pilgrimage to St. John's Well in Warrenstown knowing that it is no longer banned and that this particular Penal Law, among many others is being removed by this legislation.