Paul Gavan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I will respond briefly to the debate so far. I promise that I will be brief. First, on the issue of the higher education campuses, the fact is that under this legislation there is no campus where any such debate that Senator Mullen wants to take place cannot take place.It does not prevent that in any way. What it does is prevent anyone wishing to approach a centre for private healthcare from being harassed. The second key point is that, unlike normal public order legislation, which responds when something happens, the idea behind the Bill is to prevent that harassment taking place. The reason for the Bill is that we know what has happened in respect of far-right, fanatical, anti-choice protestors, not just in this country but around the world. We are under no illusions that it has happened here and will continue to happen here. The idea that Senator Mullen wants the Minister to supply names is, frankly, ridiculous.

I will make a final point, which I hope the Minister will take in the right spirit. He and I agree on virtually nothing these days, but we agree on this. The whole point of the Bill is that these protestors want to target individuals. Otherwise, they would protest anywhere outside the 100 m. There would be nothing wrong with that. What the Senator wants to do is target those people accessing private healthcare. It is of course about subtle coercion and intimidation. That is why we need the legislation.