It would be helpful for Members to have a debate at an early stage on the recent referendum. When all the congratulations have evaporated, there will be much soul-searching and analysis of the conduct and outcome of that referendum. To change the Constitution at any time is a momentous occasion and it is a momentous decision for the citizens as well. The recent amendments had the support of each political party in the State, yet the bottom line is that 80% of those entitled to vote did not support the referendum. This means that only approximately 20% did so.

As for the Supreme Court decision, I am disappointed at the casual response to that decision. I always understood that as legislators, when a decision came forward, Members not only accepted it but did so magnanimously. While I do not refer to any speaker today, references to the High Court in that context are not correct. The bottom line is the Supreme Court made a unanimous decision.

The second point I find worrying - again I make no reference to anyone who spoke on the issue today because it has been on the public airwaves up to now - is the suggestion the Government should be allowed to spend money on a "Yes" vote. This is exceptionally worrying, because it misunderstands and misinterprets what sovereignty means when it comes to a change in the Constitution. In this case, it would have meant that one would have been spending €1.4 million on behalf of 20%, because one certainly could not state one was spending it on behalf of the 80% who did not support it. I hope that particular debate does not gather any weight. However, in a positive sense - I do not say this in a confrontational way - an early debate would be important. Very important messages, as distinct from the result, are emerging. If I may conclude on this point-----

The Senator is out of time.

Many people have been saying in recent times that many more referendums should be held to give the people an opportunity to speak. In light of what happened in the last referendum, we now must find out why that has not been taken on board by the people.

I have no difficulty in supporting Senator Ó Murchú's call for a debate in the aftermath, when the dust settles, on the referendum.

I congratulate the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Deputy Fitzgerald, on successfully steering through the referendum. It is the culmination of 20 years hard work on the part of many Members in all parties and all-party Oireachtas committees. I also acknowledge the work and support of Senator van Turnhout.

There are many lessons to be learned from the referendum. One of them is whether our methods of communication to the public are adequate or effective. I was surprised to hear the vox pop on radio yesterday and over the weekend in which many people indicated that they did not have a clue what the referendum was about. They decided to either vote "No" because they did not understand what it was about or they decided to stay away, and that was despite the fact two booklets were sent to every household. Either people had a lazy attitude to finding information or they were disinterested and used the excuse that they did not know what it was about; therefore, they did not bother to vote. We need to analyse all of those issues. I might be wrong, and Senator Ó Murchú might correct me if I am, but I think a previous Government spent money on the second Lisbon treaty referendum; therefore, there is a precedent for doing so. The McKenna judgment and all of those other issues need to be debated.

I have a final comment on the SUSI debacle, and there is famous song with the lyrics, "If you knew Susie like I know Susie." I was one of the Senators who warned that it was a bad idea to take the processing of those grant applications away from the local authorities and the VECs.

The Senator is out of order in mentioning SUSI.

I am disappointed the assurances we were given of a better system have not come to fruition.