Sharon Keogan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

There is more than a whiff of anti-Christian sentiment about it and I wonder if the proponents of this Bill would be so quick to encroach on the faith practices of other major world religions.

The right to protest and assembly cannot be limited to what one wants. The law must treat all equally. The exemption for industrial action in this Bill makes a farce of it. Are Senators saying posters extolling the value of dignity for all human life are to be made illegal but placards, soapboxes and megaphones deployed in the same spot are to be celebrated if they are referring to wages, pensions or holidays? When these zones were being discussed in this House earlier this month, it was said, I think by the acting Leader, there is a very delicate balance to be struck between free speech and the freedom to demonstrate peacefully and we need to be very careful on that front.

The fundamental purpose of the law is to balance the rights of citizens where they come into conflict, and on that front this Bill utterly fails. The drafters of the Bill, whoever they may be, have no desire to recognise the rights of those with whom they disagree. It is a dangerous voice that tells us to use our power to restrict the rights and freedoms of our opponents and it leads us down an entirely anti-democratic road. It is certainly not a voice I expected to hear in this House. I will be voting against this Bill and I implore all of my colleagues who recognise and respect the right of people to voice their opinions in a free society without fear of persecution to do the same.