Caít Keane (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

When reading Senator Mullen's amendment, I wondered how he had come up with it or how he could possibly have interpreted the Bill in this way. Like Senator Norris, I am a proponent of separation of church and State. However, the fact is that our culture and religion have informed our laws for many years. Indeed, our laws supported that culture, which in some ways was dominated by a religion that said boys and girls recognising themselves as gay do not belong and should not belong. This Bill changes that. It is a separation of church and State.

If Pope Francis were standing here today, instead of Senator Rónán Mullen, his interpretation of the Bill would be quite different from that of the Senator. I think he would be much fairer.