Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

-----and engaged me as the Fianna Fáil spokesperson on social protection.She was totally committed to the cause from the outset. It was suggested to me that it is not something that generates votes. It is not something parliamentarians would take up on the basis that it would give them some sort of edge with the electorate. In that sense, not only Senator Power, but those who have been working hard on this legislation have been doing so out of a genuine commitment and on the basis of a humanity that is within them which wishes to see a wrong being righted. As such, I am happy to pay tribute to them.

I also pay tribute to the Minister of State, Deputy Kevin Humphreys, who hit the ground running on this legislation, not only steering it through, but also reaching out in an extraordinary way to everyone who had a view on this. The Minister of State consulted with them every step of the way to ensure that what was said, in particular in this House, was listened to and acted on. I am not in any way taking away from what happened in the other House, but most of the changes that are taking place in this legislation happened here. It happened here because of the genuine commitment of those who have spoken so far and who are here today. The buck stops with the Minister of State. He is the person who had to steer this through and ensure that it acknowledged all of the various aspects of a complex issue.

It is an issue that has further complexities in the issue of binary. It came up in the House and Senator Norris made reference in correspondence to the Australian model, which was already referred to here by several people. In that model, "binary" is mentioned on passports. I agree with Senator Bacik and the Minister of State, who, in one of his many concessions to the debate in this House, has enshrined the matter in amendments, that there should be a review of the legislation. I have no doubt that it is an issue like this that will be looked at in any ongoing review to, if nothing else, tidy up and put a complete picture on the legislation. It would be unacceptable if, having come this far in recognising the transgender population, there was an element of the legislation that would deny some their rights. I have no doubt that will be an issue that is looked at again.

On the constitutional issue that has been raised, I am concerned that people would criticise the right of people to go before the courts. There is an undertone that somehow people should not go before the courts if they have a point of view. I do not agree with the issue that has been raised.