Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 10 January 2013

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children

Implementation of Government Decision Following Expert Group Report into Matters Relating to A, B and C v. Ireland

3:50 pm

Photo of Ciara ConwayCiara Conway (Waterford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Chairman, the clerk, and all the staff for the exemplary way in which these meetings have been conducted. We are often criticised but we have shown over the past three days that sometimes politics does work and sometimes what we are elected to do can happen.

I have spoken about the sense of failure and shame that I have felt as a legislator for not doing my job on this issue. For the first time I am sure that we will be able to legislate and to right the wrong that has existed and the inequality of women in this country over the past 20 years.

This has been a very informative, calm and insightful debate. We now need timelines setting out how to proceed and implement our decision. As we approach March and the 21st anniversary of the X case decision, I, like many others in this room, do not want to have to revisit this at a future date. We owe that to the women and children of Ireland.

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