Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 20 September 2017

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution

Eighth Amendment of the Constitution: Engagement with Ms Justice Mary Laffoy, Citizens' Assembly

1:30 pm

Photo of Hildegarde NaughtonHildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Justice Laffoy for coming before us today. She may have already answered my question but, for the sake of clarification, I will ask it again. On page 3 of the report, she states:

Put simply, the Members voted that they wanted to remove Article 40.3.3° from the Constitution, and for the avoidance of doubt, to replace it with a provision in the Constitution, which would make it clear that termination of pregnancy, any rights of the unborn, and any rights of the pregnant woman are matters for the Oireachtas. In other words, it would be solely a matter for the Oireachtas to decide how to legislate on these issues.

My question comes back to the term "solely a matter for the Oireachtas". Perhaps we are over-thinking it, but is it implicit in that that it is not a matter for the courts? Could Ms Justice Laffoy expand on that?

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