Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State and his officials. It has been a good evening. We have had a conversation about and highlighted some genuine issues and the Minister of State acknowledged that he was sympathetic. There is a lot of merit in the legislation, but we need to look at how the democratic process works. The Minister of State has a track record in that regard, but I thank, in particular, all of the people who engaged in the process, those outside politics who wrote to us and lobbied us. They told us harrowing stories and said they wanted change. Senator Colette Kelleher suggested we had let people down, but we have not. Politics is a tough business, but we have done a good day's work. I ask the Minister of State to take on board the sentiments expressed in some of the amendments, even though they have not ended up being inserted into the legislation, but they are, nevertheless, important. I acknowledge the Senators who took the time and trouble to prepare for the debate on the legislation. Some amendments were ruled out of order, sometimes for legitimate reasons, but I thank Senators for engaging in the process and working very hard on their amendments.