The general scheme of the Children and Family Relationships Bill was published for consultation in January 2014 by Alan Shatter, the then Minister for Justice and Equality, and discussed by the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality in April 2014. The bill was introduced in Dáil Éireann on 17 February 2015 by Shatter's successor as minister, Frances Fitzgerald. The government had planned to have the bill enacted before the same-sex marriage referendum in May 2015, so that the issue of adoption by same-sex couples would not be used by opponents of same-sex marriage in the referendum campaign. Fitzgerald distinguished the family bill from the amendment bill at a seminar organised by the Children’s Rights Alliance. The bill was approved by the Dáil on 12 March. It passed the Seanad on 30 March, in a 20-2 vote and was signed into law by President Michael D. Higgins on 6 April 2015. All provisions of the act did not come into legal effect.