David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senators for the good debate we had last time on this issue. It is important to tease out these matters. When I was Chairman of the Joint Committee on Justice and Equality we had some hearings on this issue and they involved some colleagues here. Again, they were persuasive.

Officials from the Department and the Office of the Attorney General have done considerable work on this over the summer. The term "and" is in the proposed legislation. However, I am prepared to look at it again to see if it is the most satisfactory wording. We have looked at this carefully. The suggestion is that we use "or" instead of "and". I believe there are issues around that. I will not go into them now but I will certainly take this issue away and have a look at it to see whether we can improve it. We have been advised that the current wording is the most suitable wording.

I have taken on board the comments of Senators to the effect that this is an important and ground-breaking amendment. Let us hope it will make a big difference to the people who need the kind of support the legislation will hopefully give.