Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Yes. That is why the Minister for Justice and Equality is having it. I replied to Senator Gavan during the week that the referendum is about the value we put on women. One of the issues we will have in the referendum is who will oppose it. The 50% balance required in broadcasting and the referendum commission might be an interesting issue. It is an important referendum, which is why the work of the Library and Research Service of the Oireachtas is worth looking at. It is a very good document on what the constitutional provision means. There will be pre-legislative scrutiny in committee on the referendum Bill but the work of the Citizens' Assembly should also be considered as a platform to inform. It is a referendum which needs to be held and on which an informed campaign is required. Sometimes, people do not know what they are voting on. It is about the value we place on women but it is also, as the Minister for Justice and Equality said, about allowing people to choose the lives they want.

I join Senator O'Sullivan in wishing the Irish Examinerwell on acquisition by The Irish Times. After 146 years of publication, the paper is being transferred to a new owner. I thank Tom Murphy of Landmark Media for his stewardship and pay tribute to the Crosbie family for their wonderful contribution to public life in Cork and Ireland generally. As Senator O'Sullivan said it is "the paper". When it was the Cork Examiner, we all bought it. The Evening Echois the paper I buy every day because it is the paper for Cork city. Every Christmas, we have The Holly Boughto look forward to. It is an extraordinary day and, in fact, some of us are emotional about it.I had the pleasure of doing some freelance work on sport with the then Cork Examiner and I wrote a column for the Evening Echo for a number of years on sport and community notes. I would have a bias that it is the best sports paper in the country and I would say that without fear of contradiction. I hope the staff of the Irish Examinerare looked after by The Irish Timesand that there will be no major attrition in the amalgamation of staff. They are wonderful people and their families have been exceptional in allowing for the publication of great newspapers. It is not just about the Cork Examiner, now the Irish Examinerand the Evening Echo, it is about the other regional newspapers as well.

I hope the titles will not be lost. I wish we had the Cork Examiner still, but in saying that may I thank the Crosbie family for their tremendous service and dedication. It is an emotional day because it is an element of what Cork is.

Senator Norris referenced the Presidency in his remarks. May I remind Members that there never has been more Independent members elected to councils across the country and there has never been more elected Independent Members in the Oireachtas. If Members cannot get 20 people in the Houses of the Oireachtas to sign their paper or to get four councils to nominate them, they should not bother running. What members of the political parties have done is not anti-democratic. If Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, Sinn Féin or the Labour Party decide to run a candidate, that is their prerogative. If they do not wish to do so, that is also their prerogative. I believe the comments made by some Senators are headline grabbing. I wish everybody well in their pursuit of the Presidency and I hope we will have a contest. I wish all those who seek to have an independent nomination every success.