Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

We are half an hour into the debate and a range of Deputies are literally calling people names and attributing false motivations in respect of particular amendments. Last week, a Deputy was driven to tears by the level of aggression directed at her. Is it possible that we can have a debate without introducing this fractiousness all the time? Members talk about others seeking to shame. There is an effort on the part of some Deputies to shame those on the other side of the debate in order to close them down and censor them. There is nothing wrong with Deputies asking questions and engaging in honest debate. It is unbelievable that other Deputies are seeking to censor and create uniformity of thought and that groupthink exists in this Chamber. It is important that those with opposing views have an opportunity to put them respectfully without others seeking to delete them with aggression and calling them names.

People have been ratcheting up the debate in the past half an hour, calling this proposal an inquisition. It is a four-page document. It refers to the type of information collected in many other western European democracies. In the 35 years of debate on the eighth amendment, I have never heard people state that the British system is built to shame women. All we are looking for is information that is collected in other countries, such as Britain and New Zealand. There is a higher incidence of abortion among certain ethnicities and among those with disabilities or living in poverty. If one is from a poor background, one is far more likely to be aborted. If one is disabled, one is far more likely to be aborted.

If one collects information purely for policy development and not to identify individual women in any way whatsoever, one is simply adding to the available information so policymakers can become involved in developing solutions to some of the socio-economic problems people experience. There is absolutely no malicious intent. Our proposal is simply to bring a democratic norm in other European countries into our law. The only motivation for people not to want to collect this information is a desire to hide what is happening in the country in the future.

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