Marie Louise O'Donnell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I want to congratulate Senator Colm Burke because it is his Bill and we were privileged to be part of it. I thank him for including me. There were some marvellous speeches made on Second Stage, which ignited the Bill and encouraged the Government to prioritise it, which I was glad to see. I thank the Department and the Minister most sincerely because the amendments tabled were excellent and enhanced and protected the Bill. It is Senator Burke's day and he has worked very hard for it. He saw the Bill through and stayed with it. He was right. As I said in my report, it came up in a thousand different ways which we forget about. I agree with the Minister that it will not take away grief and pain, but will give some kind of conduit or ending for it, in terms of the awful vacuum for those left living when a person goes missing for years without any sense of returning.