At the meeting at 4.30 p.m., the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform said he was not a Trappist monk and that arrangements had been made for a press conference and a statement for the 6 o'clock news. The Minister for Defence will be aware that the programme for Government contains a specific reference, quoted in the document of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform yesterday, that all-party discussions will be initiated on constitutional or other measures that might be required in dealing with applications from non-nationals to remain in this State on the basis of parentage of an Irish-born child. It is unclear from the Government at this moment whether it intends to hold the referendum on 11 June or on another date, perhaps in conjunction with a presidential election or together with another referendum, for instance, on the introduction of electronic voting.
I warn the Minister for Defence that this is not the way to do business on this sensitive matter. In so far as the Fine Gael Party is concerned, I recognise there is a problem and that a solution to it must be found. I commit my party to participate in this debate in a rational, non-emotional and non-racist manner. Following the Taoiseach's remarks three weeks ago and given that this is a sensitive issue, I would have thought that the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform could have brought this matter to the All-Party Committee on the Constitution as the appropriate forum. In that way, a comprehensive, rational and inclusive series of discussions could have taken place. There are serious questions in respect of whether amending Article 9 of the Constitution is the proper way of going about this. There are also questions concerning the changed position and the implications in respect of the Good Friday Agreement. Clearly, in the run-up to local and European elections, there is a distinct probability that inflammatory comments could be made about this sensitive situation.
I urge the Government not to proceed in the way it now proposes. Given the sensitivity of this matter and while recognising that there is a problem, I recommend strongly that the appropriate forum to deal with this initially is the All-Party Committee on the Constitution. That is where comprehensive discussions on the matter should begin. Fine Gael will contribute constructively and seriously to that important debate in a realistic and rational fashion. I recognise that a solution to the problem must be found and I will contribute to the quest for that solution.