Shane Ross (Dublin South, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I have as long an experience as anybody in this House, bar the Taoiseach and maybe one or two others, of being present for discussion of this issue. I was unfortunate enough to be here, in the other House, in 1984; I was unfortunate enough to see this being debated in the 1990s; and I am unfortunate enough to see it still unresolved in 2013. It is sad to see us being reluctantly, once again, dragged into it, not voluntarily but by tragic events elsewhere which force us into it, or being pushed into it by the courts. It is an act of political cowardice on all our parts that we have been unwilling to address this issue because it is so emotive, difficult for people and, as a result, difficult for politicians. In an ideal world these are exactly the issues we should be here to address and upon which we should lead, confront and challenge public opinion, take decisions and show leadership. We do not live in an ideal world and I sympathise with those who have been put under great pressure during this campaign.

I will vote in favour of the legislation. What is being done is right and proper. However, I deeply regret two things as a result of this campaign. One is the extremism that has marked this campaign on both sides. There is a moderate, common-sense, middle way on this issue and the reason politicians are unwilling to address it is the extraordinary nature of extremists on both sides of the argument. The obsessive nature of many on this issue is difficult to confront, even in a very robust political world. All politicians have been lobbied on this, as they have been on other issues, but there is an especially hysterical side to some of the extremists in this campaign. They ambush one in one's home, on the telephone and at meetings that are irrelevant to the issue with a fanaticism, on both sides, which is unhealthy and difficult to cope with.

This is a special issue with regard to people's emotions and conscience and I cannot understand why the Government does not allow a free vote on it. Fianna Fáil has allowed a free vote, presumably because political circumstances have forced it to do so, but there is nothing to be lost in showing political maturity and saying this is an issue on which people feel so strongly that they can be released from the party Whip. This is partly because it will be passed anyway, but partly because it is an issue of conscience about which people feel very uncomfortable. It is no coincidence that this is the only issue on which Fine Gael members are taking in such large numbers a very dramatic step which will exclude them from the parliamentary party and possibly mean that they will not have a way back, because they feel so strongly about it. Politicians very rarely take that road. A free vote would be a reflection of the depth of feeling about this issue and an option that a mature Chamber should be perfectly happy to give to its Members, particularly when the Government is not threatened. On the merits of the case the Bill should definitely be passed, and I ask the Government to think about a free vote, as have so many other people in this debate.

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