Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Like the Minister, I also thank Deputy Clare Daly and her colleagues on the work they have done and the effort they have made to ensure that focus has not been lost in respect of this issue. I know how difficult it can be to draft legislation such as this.

The Government shares the concern expressed by Deputy Daly in her Private Members' Bill to the effect that pregnant women whose life is at risk should be able to access appropriate medical care, including lawful termination of pregnancy. As the House was informed last week, the Government is committed to ensuring that the safety of pregnant women in Ireland will be maintained and strengthened and that will be in a position to fulfil our duty of care towards them. The Government's commitment in respect of this issue is clear and is reflected in the agreed programme for Government, which contained a commitment establishing an expert group to examine these issues and to make recommendations to Government on how this matter should be properly addressed. The expert group's report was published today, a fact I welcome. It can be found on the Department of Health's website and will be debated in the House next week. I urge Members to read the findings of the expert group. All Deputies should be afforded the opportunity to study the report in detail before being called upon to vote on any legislative proposals on the matter. A guillotine will not be applied in respect of the Dáil debate and every Member will have an opportunity to add to the discussion. The Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health and Children will also hold three days of public hearings on the report in the new year, prior to the resumption of the Dáil following the Christmas recess.

On the day on which the expert group's report was published, I do not believe it is appropriate to be considering or voting on what is effectively an attempt to prejudge its recommendations. As I stated last week during the debate on the Sinn Féin motion on the Supreme Court ruling in the X case, we now know that there is a solution in sight and that action will be taken. The expert group's report, which is now at everyone's disposal, is a detailed and comprehensive document. It provides very interesting background information on the topic of termination of pregnancy in Ireland. It lays out, with stark clarity, the current legal provisions governing termination of pregnancy in this country and sets out four options for the implementation of the judgment handed down by the European Court of Human Rights judgment in A, B and C v. Ireland case. The report also provides a very clear analysis of the legal, constitutional, ethical, and medical issues to be considered. Further, it lays out - in a simple and concise fashion - the advantages and disadvantages of each option available to us for the implementation of the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in the A, B and C v. Ireland case. Most importantly, the report is clear, that the option of legislation - with regulations - will satisfy the requirements relating to the implementation process of the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights. In my reading of it, the report provides us with a clear roadmap for action.

As both the Tánaiste and the Minister for Health stated in the House recently, this issue was been with us for 20 years and this is the first Government that has decided to deal with it. Six Governments in this State have failed to act on the 1992 judgment of the Supreme Court; this Government will not be the seventh. However, legislating for the X case is a serious and legally complex issue. As such, every comma and full stop will be subject to intense scrutiny and may be subject to a challenge in the courts. We all know this is very likely. Legislation in this area requires the most careful and expert drafting, appropriately the work of the Office of the Attorney General. While Deputy Daly's Bill is welcome in facilitating debate, it is not appropriate that it should form the legislative basis for this particularly complex issue. Indeed, the expert group report pointed out that: "Due to the nature of this legislation, the process of drafting and democratic scrutiny is likely to take a considerable period of time." This is a sensitive issue and it is proper and right that it be given the attention it requires. Therefore, I support the Government decision to oppose Deputy Daly's Bill.

The expert group report sets out a number of recommendations and weighs the advantages and disadvantages of each option. The report's findings state that the recommendation for legislation with regulations would likely satisfy the requirements of the implementation process of the judgment in A, B and C v. Ireland. According to the report, legislation with regulations "fulfils the requirements of the judgment, it provides for appropriate checks and balances between the powers of the legislature and the executive, and would be amenable to changes that might arise out of clinical practice and scientific advances".

The Oireachtas will have the opportunity to discuss and vote on all the relevant details of any proposed legislation in this area. I hope the Government will be supported by the Opposition, especially by those Members who have been so clear in their desire for action on this issue. The Government is committed to acting on this report, with a decision to be made before the Christmas recess and implemented in the new year. However, it is clear that any proposed legislation for the X case will be a complex task.

The expert group report is helpful in that it discusses the various complex issues than can arise and sets out a number of measures that could be implemented to address each issue. For example, the report states:

The Supreme Court in the X case specifically recognised risk of suicide as a legitimate basis for permitting termination of pregnancy where the other criteria were satisfied. This principle was upheld in two subsequent referendums on the issue.

However, the report deals with and rejects the arguments often put forward that the judgment in Attorney General v. X, establishes a right to abortion at any gestational age. Even from a cursory analysis, it is clear that the report of the expert group provides a wealth of expertise, both medical and legal, and that this considerable resource at our disposal should not be ignored.

Our responsibility as legislators is not simply to draft legislation, no matter how well-intended. It is our responsibility to pass legislation which is subsequently enacted. This will require 83 votes in favour of the legislation. Deputy Daly introduced this Bill last April. I spoke on the Bill at the time and I have no doubt of her good intentions. However, only 20 Members voted in its favour. This is a far cry from the required number of 83 votes in favour. There is division among all groupings in this House. Not one political party or group speaks with a unified voice on this issue. Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, Sinn Féin and the Technical Group are all divided on this issue. The Labour Party has been the only party with a clear and unified voice on the need to legislate on behalf of the X case. We stand ready to legislate now. I am confident this will not be the seventh Government to ignore the need to act on the Supreme Court ruling in the X case. The Government has committed to have a decision before the Christmas recess. There is a commitment to implement that decision early in the new year, following the hearings of the Joint Committee on Health and Children. I have no doubt the report will stimulate an extremely interesting discussion in the House next week. I trust that, following on from the events in recent weeks, we will be able to have a thoughtful and considered debate on this sensitive issue that has divided Ireland for at least three decades. For all these reasons I believe that a vote in favour of this Bill is not appropriate at this time.

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