Ned O'Sullivan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I will not detain you, Acting Chairman. I did not prepare a speech but I wish to add my humble words. I commend Senator Nash on bringing forward this all-party motion.

We are talking about apologies. We tend to think that apologies come from the State, this amorphous State. The apology has to come from the people. I was one of those people. I was brought up in a rural place in the 1950s and 1960s. I have to apologise because we grew up in total ignorance. Sexual education was a joke. If I had to talk about sexuality in my teenage years it was in a state of confusion. Homosexuality was absolutely a mystery of the highest order, and we behaved accordingly. I remember some friends of mine, including schoolmates, who were highly talented individuals. They were really artistic people who were good at music, dance and so on. They lived blighted lives because they did not fit in. Most of them got the hell out of Kerry and out of Ireland as soon as they could. I feel a sense of guilt about that and this is my day to express it. It was not only in Ireland, by the way. One of the greatest actors of our time, John Gielgud, was prosecuted once for being in a public toilet with a man. It was not only Ireland, but we can only answer for ourselves.

I wish to join in the warm tributes paid by the Minister, Senator Lawless and others to Senator David Norris. I was in college in Dublin many years ago when I started reading about this crackpot who was making a nuisance of himself down around the town. I liked him. I am a fast learner and I quickly regretted my previous attitudes to things like homosexuality. We have to be prepared to grow. I wish to pay tribute to the Leader of the House, Senator Buttimer, as well as Senators Warfield and Nash. I compliment the Civic Engagement Group, which in recent years has been proactive and has helped to widen our horizons as well. I have no wish to sound like a party partisan. A person may be a member of a political party but may not like everything that party does. There are days when a member is inspired and days when he is totally depressed. Anyway, I remember one of my proudest days in Fianna Fáil was in 1993, when I was a young councillor and I saw Máire Geoghegan-Quinn signing off on the decriminalisation of homosexuality. That was a proud day for me. It was along the lines of when Jack Lynch brought forward the referendum to remove the special position of the Catholic Church. We still have work to do. We can divide people into two - those who welcome and embrace change and those who fear change. Change has to be challenged and examined, naturally. You are moving me on, Acting Chairman.