I would like to say a brief word. First, I would not like the impression to go out from here this morning that this Bill has passed through this House today on the nod or that we are in any way casual about the matters concerned. The reality is that this Bill has received very wide and searching examination of all its sections in a special committee of the Oireachtas. This Bill probably has taken up more parliamentary time than almost any other Bill in the lifetime of the current Dáil. I would like to put on the record very firmly that the Bill we have here today has been very carefully examined and scrutinised and has been referred back to the other House on a number of occasions.
This Bill is the first Private Members' Bill to be enacted in almost 30 years. It is not in the normal run of Private Members' Bills. It is a very substantial Bill which is aimed at addressing a very significant and major problem in our society, that of marital breakdown. It is a subject upon which in the past it has been almost impossible to get all-party agreement. Indeed, there were very many people at the beginning of this session of the Oireachtas who doubted that it would be possible to get all-party agreement on a matter of this kind.
This Bill originated from Deputy Alan Shatter. It was debated in the other House at great length. Finally, after a series of lengthy, detailed discussions it was possible to find agreement on the issues which divided the Fine Gael Party and the Government. In saying that, I want to put very clearly on the record the appreciation of those in my party to the attitude of the Minister for Justice who had, as his objective, the objective of Deputy Alan Shatter. That was to tackle this problem in a way which would find as wide an acceptance as possible and which would lessen the trauma of marital breakdown and remove, as far as possible, much of the great hardship and suffering which attaches to that experience in so far as the law can address these particular problems.
The fact that we are here today on what is an historic day for the Oireachtas is something which reflects credit on Deputy Alan Shatter, the Minister and on all parties in both Houses. It is a benchmark of the growing maturity of our society that we can now face up to the problems which in the past were almost beyond the realm of open, reasoned, fairmined discussion. It is interesting that in the course of this debate people who may have begun by doubting the goodwill or the bona fides of those whose points of view opposed theirs have ended the debate accepting that there was a point of view on all sides.
This Bill, as it is now leaving this House today to go to the President for his signature before it becomes law, is not as ideal as I would have liked it or as my party would have liked it. It is not as ideal as the Minister would have liked it but it is, I believe, the most significant measure of reforming legislation in this area of marital breakdown since the foundation of the State.
As well, this Bill establishes certain principles and guidelines. The experience of this Bill in practice should be monitored very carefully by all politicians, by both Houses of the Oireachtas and by the Department of Justice to ensure that if there are any defects in this Bill, or if there are any ways in which it can be improved, that we will have no difficulty in tackling these particular problems with a certainty that at least the debate can be open and comprehensive.
Having made those points, I say that this Bill offers hope and some sort of better way for the very many thousands of people who find themselves, for whatever reason, in a situation of marital breakdown. This Bill, with its simplified court procedures, with its more just and equitable systems, with the elimination of much of the name calling and allocating of blame which has been an integral part of our system up to now, will at least lead to a more civilised and a more humane way of tackling this problem.
In conclusion, I want once again to put on record the debt of both Houses to Deputy Alan Shatter, whose Bill this was and who guided it through the other House. Equally, I want to put on the record our gratitude to the Minister for Justice whose willingness to listen, to argue his case and, ultimately, to compromise in the interest of getting the best legislation possible has also brought us to this stage today. I hope the example they have given and that has been given to this House in the passing of the legislation will be something which we can follow in other legislation which is not of a party political kind, where we are dealing with the problems of real people and where there are real issues which can be sorted out in open debate. This will be an example that we can do this without any party suffering any loss of face. In fact, the real winners today are the people whose problems can now be addressed, the legal profession which now has a new framework within which to operate in this particular area and, I believe also, the Houses of the Oireachtas. I believe that what we have done today will be warmly welcomed and applauded by all fair-minded people outside.
