Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I, too, commend Senators Bacik and Nash on all of the work they have done. I am delighted to be here today and thank Senators for their nice comments. It has been a pleasure to put through this legislation because we have all worked together. I thank my departmental officials for their hard work. They worked with Senators to make sure that we got the exact sense of what needed to be done. I am glad for all of the people in the Gallery because they have waited a long time. I am delighted to be able to do this work.

As I have previously noted in this House, while understanding the principle behind the original Bill, the Government had concerns that the legislation, as drafted, went far beyond that objective and would have had a serious impact on the Exchequer. Along with other Senators, I am delighted that Senator Bacik and the Labour Party's legislation has been passed in Seanad Éireann. I believe President Higgins tried to do this many years ago.