Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

It takes a courageous and brave Minister to put the foot down. I love the word "pause" that has been used by Senator Kelleher and others. As Senators, we have decided today to defer this matter. I want to join others in making the point that the Minister has shown great respect to the House by coming in here and setting out her intentions. That is not something we can always say in politics and in this House. The Minister has shown great respect to the House. I think we will get a pathway that enables us to find a resolution. We have received hundreds of letters and telephone calls from people who want to tell us about their personal experiences. We all know where we have come from. We see the child from where we stand and in the context of our experiences throughout life. We bring our past experiences with us. We always want to cling on to our identity, to who we are and to where we have come from. It is important for many reasons for us to be able to do that. I believe we will have a pathway to a Bill and to good law. I think that is really important. I will work with the Minister to get this law. I know all of us will do so.

I would like to echo some of the points that have been made by my colleague, Senator Marie-Louise O'Donnell. She touched on some core issues, including the capacity of Tusla. There are issues with our experiences and those of the public with regard to Tusla and what it stands for. We need confidence in any system that is going to have to do this job. The Minister's decision to pause this process is an important one. While I do not think we should pause for too long, I do not think we should move too fast either. There is a balance here. It is better to get this legislation right. I want to acknowledge the work of Senator Bacik.I was at the meeting in the Minister's office where she teased out some of the aspects to it, which was constructive. That is the great thing about this House, as Members have vast experience and different backgrounds and traditions, as well as different expertise to draw on, to get this right. It is important.

I like the words used by the Minister when she said, we heard, we listened and we were able to change our approach. That is not a bad thing. That is a really good and sound quality. We stopped, we had regard to the correspondence and the communications and we listened. More importantly, we are going to take action and there is a certain empathy in all of this and a greater understanding. I like the Minister's tone that we are going to make laws together. I like the tenor, tone and the pace of this correspondence and I can see it is very much the Minister's words that are jumping off the page, it is her voice. That is really important. I know that the Minister has put a significant amount of her personal commitments into this to see it right. I do not doubt for one moment the Minister's commitment. I sat down with a number of women the other day, who were all quite emotional drinking coffee in the restaurant and they talked about the Minister and her legacy. I understood what they meant and they meant that in a positive way. They have great expectation of the Minister. I do not want to be overstating but there is an expectation of her, as an Independent Minister with a good track record in the heart of Cabinet in the heart of Government and the Minister, more than anybody else, is expected to deliver. Yes, we have had a blip and we have a pause, but I think we will get this right.

Let me say "well done" to those who sent emails, who rang and who engaged with Members, because this is participative democracy working at its best. We are all involved. Is that not a great thing to be able to say? We are involved, we have taken a conscious decision to pause and to listen. I wish the Minister well and I think we will work with the Minister and her officials to get good strong legislation. The great pity of all of this would be to throw it all out. Many people sent me one-liners, stating "please reject the Bill". I will not reject a Bill. We need a Bill and we need to address this issue in legislation. We need to tap into the best ideas but we must get the best advice and must be prepared to listen to that advice. We have to operate within the constraints of the Constitution and we have to listen to the advice of the Attorney General. Within all of that mix, hopefully we can get a sound strong Bill because I for one do not want to go out of here, rejecting legislation. We need to improve it and polish it up and go forward. I wish everybody well and I hope we can come to a satisfactory Bill that will serve the people that most need it.