Peter Fitzpatrick (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome Ms Justice Laffoy, Ms Finegan and Ms Hynes. I thank the 99 members of the Citizen's Assembly who gave up five weekends between 16 November and 17 April.

Ms Justice Laffoy said that each speaker was chosen because of their expertise and impartiality on the topic. In total, 17 groups were invited and accepted. Does she think that both sides were well represented? What I mean is pro-life and pro-choice. I was personally shocked that 64% of the members recommended that termination of pregnancy without restriction should be lawful. She also stated that members made it clear they wanted to see wider policy issues as distinct from legal issues.

Some 90% of babies diagnosed with Down's syndrome in Britain are aborted. Denmark has set a goal of being Down's syndrome free by 2030. Some 98% of abortions in the UK were performed for social reasons. Some 100,000 people in Ireland would not be alive today without the eighth amendment. I ask Ms Justice Laffoy to tell me the difference between policy issues and legal issues.