Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister to the House and I support her endeavours on this very important legislation. It is timely and long overdue.There is an enormous amount of support for what the Minister is attempting to do in the Bill.

I second the amendment to the amendment. In so doing, I am very much guided by my colleague, Senator McDowell, who is a former Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, a former Attorney General and a practising senior counsel. There is no real divergence from the Minister in what he is proposing and I expect that she will be supportive of his initiative. As Senator McDowell outlined, it is about having legislation that is easily read and understood and, more importantly, easily applied. We do not want there to be any ambiguity about what the Minister is attempting to do. As outlined, the amendment to the amendment attempts to ensure that the Bill is easily read and understood. Senator McDowell has set out the rationale for the proposal and I see no reason that the Minister would oppose it.

I will go as far as to say that I support her in her endeavours. Sometimes in politics, people get all hung up on who is initiating legislation. The bottom line is the question of whether it is the right legislation. This is a good proposal, it is the right proposal and it is long overdue. People involved in the many tragedies relating to instances that are impacted by the legislation will be supported by its provisions. I wish the Minister well and I hope she is agreeable to accepting the amendment to the amendment.