I propose the following draft report: "The Select Committee has considered the Bill and has made amendments thereto. The Bill, as amended, is reported to the Dáil".
Is that agreed?
Report agreed to.
Ordered to report to the Dáil accordingly.
SECTION 26.
Amendments Nos. 101 and 102 not moved.
Section 26 agreed to.
Title agreed to.
I would like to express my thanks and appreciation to the Minister and Members who participated in this debate which was very intense at times. Their attention to detail was impressive. The work done on this Bill augurs well for the future of the Select Committee.
May I, in turn, thank the Chairman for presiding over the committee's proceedings in a fair and balanced way. I must pay a particular word of tribute to the Leinster House staff. It cannot have been easy for them to keep track of all the amendments, given their complexity and multiplicy, but they have done so with great ability. I also thank the Members of the committee for their contributions and the assistance they have given on this very important Bill which, when passed by both Houses, will giver very important rights to spouses in their matrimonial homes. It is very complex and the contributions and amendments proposed and discussed have been of great help. The Bill is better for it and will be better still by the time we have fully completed this process. I appreciate the co-operation and assistance of all Members in that regard.
I thank you, Chairman, for chairing our meetings very ably. I also thank the Minister for what, in fairness, has been a very constructive response to amendments tabled. Considering some of the rather unfair and unfortunate publicity that this committee received when it commenced its business after the summer recess, we should note that the original timescale for completing Committee Stage was the end of September. Because of the intensive way in which we have dealt with matters, the manner in which we have gone into the detail of the Bill and the long sittings, we have completed our work some ten days earlier than we thought would prove possible. No one can say that we have done anything but discussed the Bill thoroughly and comprehensively.
The Bill, in the form in which it is going to Report Stage, is a better Bill than originally published but that, equally, is no criticism of the Minister because we must acknowledge that Committee Stage is designed to tease out the intent of the Bill, the way sections will work, whether they are practicable and to make amendments to legislation to ensure that when finally enacted it will provide help to the people to assist.
I accept, as the Chairman said, that the Minister recognises that this is a constructive way to deal with legislation. From the Opposition side we can only say, with regret, that so far the Government has not been amenable to dealing in a similarly constructive way with Private Members' Bills. I hope that, perhaps in the not too distant future, this committee will take Committee Stage of a Private Members' Bill and that its work in the next three and a half years will not be confined to dealing with Government legislation.
We have done a very good day's work on this very important Bill. It is only one of a number of measures that we must enact in this area to provide a modern and responsive body of legislation to deal with the very real problems that families face at present. I hope that on Report Stage we will make further amendments to the Bill to deal with some of the difficulties that all of us now acknowledge we have with it. I look forward to the Minister adopting a similar constructive approach on the floor of the House to that he adopted before this committee.
I wish to place on record my thanks as convenor of this Committee to Deputy Bradford and members of all the other parties for their co-operation and, in particular to the staff who co-ordinated the activities of the Committee on what is, effectively, an historic occasion in the Houses of the Oireachtas.
On behalf of the Progressive Democrats, I join with Deputy Shatter in congratulating the Minister for introducing this legislation so early in his term of office. It has been a long time in gestation. Indeed, more than 20 years ago it was recommended by the First Commission on the Status of Women. I am delighted in my first term in the Dáil to be dealing with such important legislation which, for the first time, recognises the equal rights of women in marriage.
I wish to thank the Chairman, the staff of the Houses of the Oireachtas and the Minister's officials for presenting material in as digestible a form as was possible given the complexity of this legislation. I thank the Minister for being gracious and open in accepting amendments and for going into great detail to explain to us, in so far as possible, especially to non-lawyers, the complexities of this Bill. This Bill is not only about the social policy involved in achieving equal rights for women, it deals with conveyancing and bricks and mortar and is very complicated conveyancing legislation. It is a very important part of the jigsaw which is necessary in the lead up to the divorce referendum which, I hope, will be successful.
There is no room for complacency about the outcome of the referendum. It is very important that the other aspects which led to the defeat of the last referendum on divorce are looked at seriously and fully debated in this House in the near future as the public have very serious and legitimate concerns about it. I mentioned some of them, the custody and maintenance of dependent children and the social welfare aspects arising out of the breakdown of marriage. Ownership of the matrimonial home is a very important aspect and one of the biggest fears in the context of divorce and marital breakdown. Custody of children, pension rights and the maintenance and enforcement of maintenance for dependent children are key issues which are the next part of the jigsaw. The Minister and the Government should be as pro-active on those issues as they have been in bringing forward this very good legislation.
Members can take it for granted that the Committee will not sit again this month. We have done our share of business and, therefore, our next meeting will be in early October.
I will take on board the point made by Deputy O'Donnell. I am glad she mentioned the work of my departmental officials, without whom the preparation of the notes and material for the Committee, etc., would not have been possible. They have put in a tremendous amount of preparatory and substantive work on this Bill and the appreciation and thanks of us all are due to them.
The Select Committee adjourned sine die.