Lisa Chambers (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the fact that the committee has deliberated at some length and we have reached a broad consensus that the status quocannot pertain and that at least some change will be made. We have not discussed what those changes will be yet and we are about to deliberate on those options now, but there appears to be broad consensus that the status quocannot be maintained. That is progress at the end of a number of weeks of very hard work on behalf of each member of this committee.

We discussed at length with our legal advisers the options available to us. The first option was repeal simpliciter. The difficulties posed by that potentially are that it may be considered in conflict with the Citizens' Assembly but we are open to reporting in our own right as a committee and that is an option we will consider very carefully.

I propose to discuss option No. 2, which is repeal based on published legislation entrenched in the Constitution in that the legislation would be drafted and then it would be given a constitutional status. The difficulties were outlined very clearly to us on that particular option by our legal advisers and the challenges that would present. The advice to us was that it would be impractical to say the least to have option No. 2 in place because minor amendments or even procedural amendments would require a constitutional referendum, which appears to almost take that option off the floor but we will make a call on that as a group.

Option No. 3 is repeal based on legislation published in tandem with a referendum. It does appear that this is certainly one option that is quite viable as it does provide a reasonable approach in that I think it is reasonable to say a lot of people, perhaps the majority, will want to know what will be in place after a potential repeal. If legislation is to be published, it does make sense that citizens would know what the legislation would be and what the intention of the Government would be in terms of drafting it. That makes sense.

Option No. 4 is repeal and replacement on specific grounds. That would be a situation whereby we would repeal the eight amendment and we would replace it with another constitutional article which would then detail the specific grounds on which an abortion could be obtained. I believe the intention under that option is that the grounds would be quite restricted. Again, that posed challenges in some ways. There would be an interpretation then by the courts in terms of how that would operate and it would require legislation as well. That option is, again, not without its challenges.

Option No. 5 is quite similar to option No. 4. It is repeal and replace on broader grounds, providing a greater degree of flexibility to legislators and to the medical profession. That is an option we would have to consider in more detail.

Option No. 6 is repeal and replace with a provision conferring exclusive power on the Oireachtas to regulate. That would repeal the current Article 40.3.3° and replace it with another constitutional article dictating that the Oireachtas would have the sole power to legislate. This, technically, is what the Citizens' Assembly called for, but again we have the option to discuss that further as a possible outcome.

What is very clear is that there are a number of outcomes and options available to us as a committee. They will be available to the Dáil to adjudicate on and ultimately to the people. That is the point to be made. We are doing a lot of work here in terms of trying to compile a report and have the greatest degree of consensus that we can, although I believe there is an acceptance that we will probably not have full consensus among every committee member, and that is reflective of Parliament and the country. This is not a decision that will be agreed upon by everybody. In the context of the legal options available to us, it is incumbent upon us as legislators to discuss in detail how each of those options could be catered for, and that will require us then to look at the possible ways we could legislate for each and every eventual outcome.

In terms of the proposal that was put to the committee today not to retain Article 40.3.3° in full, what that allows us to do is to explore all six options and to decide how best to proceed, but I think there is an acceptance on the part of the majority of members that the status quo cannot be maintained.