Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

-----irrespective of where they are from or who they are. We must ensure that what we try to do at all times is for the common good in giving people an opportunity to flourish and develop and reach the potential that in many cases they are so eager to reach. When we discover there are members of the school community, neighbourhood or friends who have not had the opportunity to flourish and have matured in life and discovered that some of their early choices and decisions were less than what they should have been, they, too, deserve an opportunity to flourish, develop and grow. I know that is what the Minister does and it is what I try to do. Given this opportunity, we must reflect on the people who are speaking through us tonight in this Chamber and going back over decades of wrong decisions and incidents that happened in their lives. We all know of people, friends and neighbours who committed an offence, paid a price that has left an impression on their lives and, in many cases, helped to shape their lives for good or bad. There are people who have benefited from the 2016 Act, despite what some have said. It was a stepping stone because it did create a different pathway. We must offer a second chance and allow people to remove barriers and obstacles.We must be allowing people to remove barriers and obstacles. I always tried as an educator, whether I was teaching the leaving certificate applied or the leaving certificate, or was in adult education, to create a pathway. It was about creating a platform from which people could move on to the next level. Senator Ruane is trying to achieve access to education, employment and opportunities. Alcoholics and gamblers in society today are offered a second opportunity. Many of them take it. As we celebrate the 30th anniversary of Tabor Lodge in Cork, I am struck by the number of men and women who have come through addiction issues into counselling and step-down facilities. Senator Boyhan made reference to Christmas time. People are being reintegrated into society, which is an awful phrase in my opinion, and being reintegrated back into their families. We use the word "rehabilitation", which is a wonderful word, but what does it actually mean when we boil it down? It means we all embrace each other and allow each other to live life as best we can. That is why I think it is about rewarding the person who has worked, tried to rebuild, earnestly engaged in a pathway and given of themselves in that journey to become a different, newer person.

I was at the cinema in Dundrum. In a perverse way, Dick Cheney comes into this debate. I do not want to spoil the film for those who have not seen it but it begins with a scene of a drink-driving episode in Wyoming and the book-end is that he becomes the Vice President of the United States. If that person was to be judged on the first act of the movie, which was real life, he would never have been Vice President of the United States.