Kevin Humphreys (Dublin South East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I will reply to group 1 because it has been so wide-ranging. I thank Senator Zappone for her remarks in the beginning and for her work and for the Private Members' Bill that she published. She is quite right. The debate in this House did influence and change legislation as it travelled through. I am truly grateful for the work of everybody in the House.Senator Marie Moloney may take my phone number off speed dial now.

It it worthwhile saying again that I hope, once the case is finished in the courts, that the requirement to be single will be amended as quickly as possible. I would have far preferred to be in front of the House today proposing such an amendment, but unfortunately I cannot. It came to mind when Senators Norris and Bacik spoke about the courts. I accept what was said about the time limit. Growing up, one of my favourite programmes was "Yes Minister", featuring a civil servant called Sir Humphrey. The phrase, "You might very well think that; I couldn't possibly comment," sprang to mind. I hope it is dealt with in the courts in a speedy manner, and we can then amend the Bill, which would be positive.

I am happy to come back to any points I missed. I agree with Senator Mooney's comments about Senator Power. When she was a member of Fianna Fáil she represented it very ably and made some excellent points, and her contribution reflects that. On Committee Stage in the Seanad and Dáil we worked in co-operation, and all meetings involved discussions not only with elected representatives but with those in the gallery. That process improved the Bill. Senator Bacik spoke about how our understanding of such issues has changed quickly. We had a responsibility to the vast majority whose views this Bill reflects to pass the legislation at some stage. The Bill is all the stronger because of the built-in review mechanisms. Elements that arose during the debate can be dealt with in the review period, and people's understanding will improve as we move on.

I will try to respond to direct questions, even though they are not part of the grouping. I am watching the clock. Senator van Turnhout referred to the S case, which was an intersex case concerning an adopted child - it was a foreign adoption - in which the court ordered the adoption register to be changed. Such an action would still be possible, as far as I am aware. The Senator may have a different view. We depend on the advice of the Attorney General, especially regarding forced divorce, who advised that this did not need to be addressed in the Bill and could be dealt with. We have to operate on the advice we are given.

On Report Stage, Deputy Joan Collins referred to correspondence to the Tánaiste from the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs. The Minister, Deputy Reilly, did not bring specific amendments to the Cabinet, and any changes to the Bill required a Government decision. There was a need to bring specific amendments to Cabinet, but that did not happen in this case. Last month, after a Cabinet decision to include self-declaration in the Bill, the Minister wrote to the Tánaiste suggesting two amendments to the Bill. The first was that the review of the operation of the Act under section 7 of the Bill should incorporate consideration of the need for persons under 16 who are not eligible for an exemption to apply for a gender recognition certificate under section 12 of the Bill. I have stated on a number of occasions during the passage of the Bill that the issue of gender recognition for children under 16 needs further examination and that there is a lack of research and information on this very sensitive issue. When I first debated this Bill in the Seanad, I emphasised that the review was not something I viewed as a box-ticking exercise. Rather, it is to be a comprehensive review. What we know now and what we will know when the Bill comes into operation may be very different. We should not try to determine how many people have sought a certificate or got a birth certificate, because what is important is how the Bill operates within society, including for children. People referred to issues including that of non-binary gender, all of which have to be covered. From the time the Bill was published, just before Christmas, until now, a large amount of interaction, discussion, research and understanding has taken place, and the Bill has reflected a lot of that.

This is an emotive issue. Senator Power said she was very new to it and did not understand it. TENI and BeLonGTo were very helpful and discussed the issue with me. My intention is to take a keen interest in this Bill and how things change. As long as I am a Member of the Dáil there will be no question of my ever walking away or leaving children behind, because that is an important element of the Bill.

I do not know why children could not have given evidence at the pre-legislative scrutiny stage, but it may have enriched the Bill. In fairness to the Tánaiste, the recommendation was to deal with those under 16 in a different way. She went back to the Cabinet and reflected the change, as well as taking advice from the Attorney General. There is a lot more work to be done. I was asked whether this came under the remit of the Tánaiste or the Minister, Deputy Reilly, but whether it is they or I who bring this forward, it is quite important that we take up the issue in the autumn and develop it. I would be quite happy for the Minister, Deputy Reilly, to lead on this, because he is the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, and that Department has a wider remit than the Department of Social Protection on this issue. Either way, I would support that. My understanding is that e-mails have been sent to many groups and that a meeting will take place in September, because many boards of management are on summer holidays. The Minister for Education and Skills is anxious to follow up on this. The Department of Education and Skills has taken up this issue since Deputy Quinn was Minister and has worked with GLEN on anti-bullying policies. A tremendous amount has been achieved and the former Minister did a significant amount of work, and it is the intention of the Minister, Deputy Sullivan, to follow that.