Skip to main content

A happy day for Ireland as Seanad passes Marriage Equality Bill – Keane

22nd October 2015 - Fine Gael Press Office

Fine Gael Dublin South West Senator, Cáit Keane, has welcomed the passing of the Marriage Equality Bill through the Houses of the Oireachtas.

“This day is a very happy day for Ireland. The passage of the Marriage Equality Bill not only expands the freedom to marry the person we love to all of our citizens; it also removes the last legal impediment to equality for our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters. 

“There are boys and girls in Ireland at this moment with knots in their chests. They’re looking at the ground for fear that someone might notice who they pay attention to as they walk our streets. Many of our sons and daughters will tonight struggle to sleep because of the fear of who they are; they have feelings of being less than their brothers and sisters, of being unlovable. They will repeat the words ‘I’m not gay. I’m not gay’. This has been the reality for boys and girls on this island for longer than our State has existed.