Luke Flanagan (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I congratulate Deputy Clare Daly and the members of the Technical Group that has brought forward the Bill. It is what is needed. It is an improvement on what was brought forward in April as the advice of the Minister has been taken on board. One would imagine, therefore, that he would vote for it.

I also welcome publication of the report of the expert group. As someone who is relatively new to the Dáil, I wonder why we are the last to hear about such matters. Why do employees of multinational media organisations get to see a report before we do? I could also ask why the Minister does not listen to Members when they speak, but that is nothing new. As Members elected to represent the views of the people, we should have got to see the report before anyone in the media. I do not believe there was a leak but rather that the report was deliberately made available. The minute there was word of a leak we should all have been contacted and sent a copy of the report. If one were to do this, it would show respect for us, but obviously the Minister does not have respect for us because if he did, he would have sent a copy of the report to us.

The atmosphere outside Leinster House last Wednesday night and the previous Wednesday night was intense. I had never experienced anything like it previously. It clearly said people needed the Oireachtas to act. It was clear that they wanted us to act quickly.

I will not go through the details of the Bill as that has already been done. Its essence is to provide a framework to make sure what happened to Savita Halappanavar will not happen again. Pregnant young women have contacted me who are scared at the prospect of going into the specific hospital in Galway to have their child. The Minister must do something quickly to give pregnant women the confidence they need that they will be safe in our hospitals. It is difficult to see how they can have such confidence.

This is the fourth report to be produced. How many does the Minister need? He knows what needs to be done. My worry is that there is something else igoing on; that there is an ideology that says we cannot go down this road because we would be seen as pro-choice or not caring about the life of the unborn. The reality is that in an area such the one from which I come which is considered to be socially conservative people are in favour of addressing the issue. One woman who goes to mass every day of the week – I question why she does, but I respect her for it – voted on two occasions in such a way as to make the Government legislate on the issue. Public opinion has moved on. In fact, it had moved on 20 years ago. This begs the question of what the Government is afraid of in voting for the Bill which provides solutions. It means that one would not have a situation where someone who was raped would be forced to have the child of the rapist, which is not on. Fox News, the most extreme right-wing television news station I have ever seen, is criticising us for being too conservative. If that is not a message that open one’s eyes, that makes one wake up and listen to what people are saying, I do not know what is.

At the core of the issue is the fact that there is not enough respect for women in this country. That one would force someone who was raped to go through with having the child of the rapist proves that fact. One would think we have moved on at this stage. I remember my mother telling me that on the day I was born she was in agony, as many pregnant women are, and the nun who had helped to deliver me told her that she had had her little bit of fun and that it was time to take the pain. some 40 years later I had hoped we had moved on, but the events of the past month show that, ideologically, we are still in the same place. When I say “we”, I mean many Members in this House. The general public has moved on and the Government must wake up to this fact. It should not have to follow the public like a weather vane. Tony Benn put it very well - the government is meant to be a signpost to lead the people, but it has failed in that regard. Now the people are leading the Government and I beg it to follow them. What happened in the past four weeks was shameful, but if we were to have a repeat, I would not be a proud man come 2016.

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