Senator queries cost of enacting Bill

SEANAD REPORT:A GOVERNMENT member who had opposed the passing of the Civil Partnership Bill asked if the implementation of its provisions would cost at least €73 million annually in three to five years time.

John Hanafin (FF) called for the making available by the Minister for Justice of a schedule showing the cost, saying it was unusual that this had not been done during the debate on the Bill.

Given that there had been an indication in the Dáil that it would cost €1 million per thousand couples, was it the case that the minimum cost would be €73 million per annum in the near future?

Rónán Mullen (Ind) said it used to be the proud claim of the leader of the House that debate on the details of legislation was never guillotined.

Last week, for political as opposed to exceptional reasons, that good practice had been jettisoned on a fairly flimsy pretext in the civil partnership debate. He wondered why the Green Party had known of the foreshortening of the debate before others had become aware of that step.

Mr Mullen said the issue should be thrashed out in the House. He had tabled a motion aimed at achieving this.

Maria Corrigan (FF) urged that the Minister for Foreign Affairs make representations to the Iranian authorities on behalf of a girl who had been sentenced to death at the age of 14 and who, having been imprisoned for the last four years, was due to be executed by stoning on reaching the age of 18.

Ms Corrigan said that, according to reports, this girl had gone into an arranged marriage with an older man. Within a couple of months, she had been accused of adultery and found guilty. During her imprisonment she had been subjected to two mock stonings.

Ms Corrigan said she was asking the Minister to press our EU colleagues to take up the case of this young girl. We had signed the Hague Convention. We believed in the rights of the child. This execution should not go ahead. The fact that our Government knew about it, required it to act on this girl’s behalf.