Is cinnte go raibh iomad deacrachtaí againn an tseachtain seo caite, ag tosnú ar an moladh a cuireadh i láthair dúinn ag an Seanadóir Brendan Ryan, agus caithfidh mé a rá gur chuir sé ionadh mór orm an tseachtain seo caite nach raibh taobh an Rialtais sásta labhairt ar an rún. Tá súil agam go labhróidh an tAire Stáit anocht.
I will have plenty of time in eight minutes to deal with the issues that I want to deal with and I would hope that we could keep away from the divisiveness which has been part and parcel of this debate since 1982. I hope that we will address this issue in a positive way as parliamentarians seeking to resolve a legislative difficulty by legislative means. We should keep far away from name calling undermining authority and reputation and damaging activities which took place in 1982 and 1983. As I said last week, many of us suffered badly from the lines we took at that time.
At that time I was opposed to the amendment to the Constitution, and my position remains unchanged. That does not mean that I grow horns or am any less caring about life born or unborn, than the next person. A number of things have become clear over the last number of traumatic weeks during this extraordinary debate, which began when a 14 year old child, suffering from the most intrusive and traumatic type of sexual abuse, became pregnant. As I said last week, the lesson for all of us to learn from that time was that were it not for the fact that she became pregnant the abuse she had suffered would never have become public, because her parents were not aware of the abuse until they became aware of her pregnancy.
I would like to make a number of simple points. In any development that takes place as a furtherance of this debate, in any legislative manifestation of the views of the Oireachtas, we should make it absolutely clear that the right to travel outside the boundaries of the State for whatever reason should never be prevailed upon, should never be constrained, and that it should never be proper to hold somebody back who wishes to leave the State. Any attempt to do otherwise is simply to move in the direction of a police state. It is important to note that all sides of this debate accept that that would be regressive and unacceptable. There are many sides to this debate, but I think there is a consensus on the fact that the right to leave the State should be protected and we should underline that fact tonight.
I also believe that every effort should be made to find consensus in this debate, every possible effort should be made to find an agreed way forward. I welcome Senator Ryan's motion in as much as it attempts to find parliamentary consensus on moving forward. I must say that I was particularly disappointed with the reports today from the Leader of the main Opposition in the other House who took issue with the Taoiseach because he had been given something verbally rather than in writing. That kind of thing does nothing to enhance the debate or bring it to an acceptable level, and I regret that politicians are now beginning to find ways of political manoeuvring in this debate, which cannot be dealt with in that way. Let us be open, straight and direct. Let us express our views. Let us push our views as far as possible and then let us accept the democratic procedure.
I note that Senator Hanafin is going to speak in this debate. I imagine there are many things he would say with which I would take issue, but I will not take issue with one fact: his certainty, his directness and his commitment to the point of view he offers. Nobody can take issue with him on that. I might have a difference of opinion with him, but I certainly respect the honourable and direct way he makes his points, I wish that all the people who share his point of view would do the same thing. I appeal to him and the others to avoid division on this issue and move away from moralising at and towards each other.
Can we accept the good faith of people who are trying to find a resolution to an extraordinary problem? Can we accept that at the end of the day such consensus will demand movement, compromise and political judgment from all sides, and that that becomes a priority?
Whatever legislative initiatives are put into place, whatever legislation is enacted, I ask that they reflect a compassionate approach on the part of the State towards the difficulties that victims of sexual abuse find themselves in time and time again. That is a real issue. This is not a black and white debate. Anybody who presents it as such is being less than honest in view of the extraordinary complexities and difficulties which we have been trying to resolve over the last short period of time. This issue will need to be addressed in a context of compassion, of a caring and responsible legislature and it should not be driven by the so-called morality of a small group. It should reflect the views, the honestly held opinions, the cares and the responsibility of all sections of our society.
I have one final point to make. I started by saying that the right to travel should be protected because any attempt to curtail the right to travel is simply a progression into a police state. Similarly, I would say that the right to information on any particular subject should never be restricted, that people have a right to know, that people have a right to access to information in order to make the best decision. Whatever that information is, it should not be restricted in any way. I hope that whatever points are made in the discussion here tonight or in other places, we should hold sacred the right of people in difficulties to seek all the information available to allow them to make the best decision, taking into consideration all aspects of the problem, be they physical, mental, academic, moral or whatever.
I hope there will be a greater participation by the Government side tonight and that the Minister will make a contribution. I make four simple points: the right to travel, the hope that there will be a consensus and no division in dealing with this problem, the right to information and the need to address this in a compassionate, caring and responsible way.