Ivana Bacik (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I will be brief. I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Ó Ríordáin, to the House on this his first appearance before us on this Bill. I welcome members of the Gay and Lesbian Equality Network, GLEN, and other stakeholders in the Gallery. I very much welcome the resumption of Committee Stage. There has been a long gap, as colleagues will be aware, of more than a year since we first started Committee Stage and I very much welcome the news that Government amendments for Report Stage were approved earlier this week. I look forward to the Minister of State's response to Senator Zappone's amendment and to his outlining what may be in the Report Stage amendments that we will deal with next week. I know we will have a briefing for all Senators on those next Tuesday. All of us share the same objective, which is to see this Bill made as strong as possible to ensure the strongest possible protection against discrimination, in particular, on grounds of sexual orientation or on grounds of family or marital status in employments, particularly in the education and health sectors. I look forward to the Minister of State response on this amendment and I very much welcome our resumption of Committee Stage today.