Mark Daly (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

This is where changes need to be made to ensure the Bill is technically factually correct. The reason I submitted an amendment proposing in page 6, line 19, to delete "the Republic of Ireland" and substitute "the State" is because that is the correct reference in legislation. Although Senator Norris would point out that, of course, how I allowed for the Republic of Ireland to be dropped for the State, which is only 26 counties, to be put in is because this is what we do on Committee Stage - we make the Bill work legally. I put that in because Andrew Geary and the Irish Deaf Society legal team said we should put it in. Normally, that does not happen. We took what was the State's amendment and put it in. If the State were genuine about making this Bill work, even if we could not agree on everything, would we not ensure that the version of it we pass today correctly defines the State? Why did the Government not submit that amendment? The Minister of State pointed out that he did not table any amendments because we did not have consensus.