Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State and commend Senator Gerald Nash and the Labour Party for bringing forward this important Bill which sets an important marker in addressing the wrongs of the past and asserting the importance of the full right to relationships and bodily autonomy, which is crucial. What happened in the past was unjust in the very particular way laws reached into the right to relationships, bodily automony, physical freedom and privacy of the individual. They were not simply wrong; they also represented the deep over-reach of the State. It is appropriate that we are taking the time to ensure they are fully addressed and that the wrong is recognised. From my reading of the Bill, it seems to be quite clear that it is addressing the rights of consenting adults. This is written into the text in different ways, including in respect of those under 17 years. The provisions of the Bill achieve a good balance in terms of nuance. I am very happy to support the Bill and look forward to supporting its passage through the House.

We need to have an ambition for equality which is not a badge we can simply wear. I am sure all Members have badges, piles of leaflets and papers from the various campaigns in which they have been involved, including the marriage equality campaign, but it goes further. If we did not have an ambition for equality, we might have stopped with Senator David Norris's landmark campaign to ensure decriminalisation, but it drove us further. There was the introduction in the 1990s of equality legislation by the then Minister, Mervyn Taylor. It is also important to mark that legislation. With respect, I suggest that was a Government that also put down an important marker for equality by introducing the very structures for the legislation now in place. We might have stopped with the introduction of civil partnership, but we were ambitious and ploughed on to marriage equality and transgender recognition legislation. We simply cannot say the parade is finished or that we have reached our goal. We need to keep seeking ways to deeply embed equality in society. It is a service to each other when we recognise and identify new ways to drive forward the equality agenda.I believe that some of the concrete and practical suggestions put forward by Senators Warfield and Ruane and others are part of that ambition. This Bill is an important step in that regard.

We talk about driving forward. The Bill is also important because it is reaching backwards. We need to ensure we reach backwards to address the wrongs of the past. We need to ensure we put down a marker that the past ground and positions held were not simply wrong at the time but were altogether wrong and remain wrong. They were not simply a product of their moment but something we can look back on now and recognise as having been wrong. We need to mark the past ground as unacceptable and as a place where we cannot go again.

We need to be aware that things can move backwards as well as forwards. That is why we need to put a marker down on the earth. Let us consider the situation now. These are worrying times. People have talked about the LGBT community coming under pressure globally, especially in Russia. We have seen that Russia has recently decriminalised domestic violence. That is an example of how things can move backwards. That is why it is important for us to make this significant marker. The ILGA has listed 73 countries in which LGBTQI activities are illegal. That is a marker. Ireland can be and should be a leader in championing LGBT rights on a global level.

I am happy to support the Bill. I look forward to the next steps. I am also looking forward to our championing and marking of these issues, including in the areas of refugee rights. That is another area where LGBT rights need to be respected and promoted in an active way. I imagine the Minister of State, Deputy Stanton, whose work overlaps into that area, will seek to do that as well.

Colleagues have mentioned the question of those who have emigrated. In many cases they felt forced to emigrate because of their treatment in society. We know that when a law is negative, it signals permission to the rest of society to discriminate as well.

This is also a practical measure. We have seen how a criminal measure changes things. Recently, in America, we have seen how a criminal marker in the past is being used as an excuse for future discrimination. There may be a practical component to the Bill as well.