Lisa Chambers (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

At the outset, like everybody else, I compliment the Chair and her team on the work they have done. I also thank all the members of the committee. It has been a pleasure to work with everyone, despite the varying views we hold. For me, it has been an absolute privilege to serve on this committee. I think that I will look back on this in 20 or 30 years time and consider myself very fortunate to have been part of the important work which we have been asked to do. I certainly share Deputy Rabbitte's view that it has been extremely difficult to do this work. I am sure that other members will agree that it has been very draining. Some of the issues which we have had to deal with have been very heavy, very difficult and very emotive. I certainly found some of the personal testimonies very difficult to listen to and very upsetting. We have considered a lot of evidence over the three months and we have put in a substantial amount of hours.

I hope that other Members in both Houses will take the time to read over the evidence put before the committee because I have no doubt that no member of this committee would say that he or she did not learn something new. Speaking for myself, I have learned quite a lot. I definitely feel that my position is now an informed one. I have considered all of the evidence. I have listened to the overwhelming medical evidence. It disappoints me to see that certain witnesses are being pinned as being either pro-life or pro-choice. I do not even agree with those terms. Some of the witnesses who came before the committee said very clearly that they were not adopting a position but simply presenting the medical facts from the field in which they work. That information has been extremely helpful to members of the committee, most of whom are not medical professionals and require that guidance and information.

Speaking on our current system, one of the witnesses, I cannot recall who it was, said that we do have abortion services, they just happen to be in another jurisdiction. I thought that was very well put. It would be naive of us to think that women are not having terminations. Clearly they are. We have evidence to show that. We know that we have a law on our Statute Book which says they should be locked up for up to 14 years. I find it abhorrent that is on the Statute Book in the country I am from and in which I live. That needs to change. The idea that a woman anywhere in this country could be taking medication on her own, without any medical assistance, to end a pregnancy and could fear that she could not come forward because she might be prosecuted is morally wrong. That needs to change.

In terms of the options open to us, the legal advice to the committee was very clear that the best option in terms of dealing with this issue from a legal perspective is to repeal the eighth amendment simpliciter. We should not amend it, try to jimmy it around or try to entrench legislation. We have already created a mess with our current system. We should repeal simpliciterand allow the Houses to legislate. That is what we are elected to do. We are the people's Houses. We are elected to represent the people of this country. It is in the Dáil and the Seanad that legislation of this nature should be enacted. It should not be in the Constitution.

Over the course of these proceedings the spotlight has been shone very strongly on all of us as members of this committee. We are only one part of this process. One of the most notable outcomes from this committee, and one of the best things it has served to do, is getting the debate started. It has created space for this debate to happen, not just in the Oireachtas, but on the streets, in our communities and across the country. Getting the debate started has been one of the greatest achievements of this committee.

I have had representations in my own office from both sides. Regrettably, some of those representations, from both sides, have been vicious, threatening, abusive and very personal. It is regrettable that any person in this country would feel that he or she would need to resort to those types of tactics to make his or her point or have his or her voice heard. My door is certainly always open, as is the door of every elected representative. The campaign has already started but I hope that all sides to the debate can remain respectful of the other positions being taken and that we do not resort to trying to debase one another and to vicious personal attacks on individuals. That will get us nowhere and will only serve to leave a lasting sour taste in people's mouths following the result.

As Senator O'Sullivan has said, at the end of the day this committee will not decide. We will not be drafting the question or deciding what will happen for the people of this country. The citizens will decide. What this work will do, however, is inform the Dáil and the Government as to what steps they can take to bring this referendum about and as to what the question might look like. When the question comes before the Houses it will not seek the endorsement of every Deputy and Senator. They will not be asked to say "yes" or "no". They will be asked whether they will allow the question go to the people, not whether they support it. That is a really important distinction to make. In a democracy and a republic we have to be willing to let people vote and have their say. As Senator Gavan has pointed out, very few people have had the opportunity to vote on the eighth amendment. I certainly have not and I am potentially very affected by it, as are many of my peers. It is really important that people get the opportunity to vote.

When we finish our report and hand it over to the Dáil and the Seanad and then on to Government, the work will continue. I want to put it on the record that I have been told by certain groups that I was elected to represent the people of my constituency and asked why I was not representing all my constituents' views. It is very difficult to represent all of the varying views because obviously I have my own opinions and I am only one person. As I have done previously, I want to put it clearly on the record that I did get representations from all sides in the constituency, and outside it, including from those in favour of repealing the eighth amendment, those in favour of retaining it and those in favour of amending it. I believe it is fairly obvious to the public and to this committee that there is no consensus and that there are varying views.

I also want to put on the record that I am concerned about the very tight timeline proposed by Government for the holding of the referendum. We have been through a very detailed process of educating ourselves. We have heard three months of evidence. The Citizens' Assembly also had considerable time to debate and consider evidence. I hope that every effort will be made to ensure that the public gets all of the information it needs to make an informed choice come referendum day. That will be hugely important to the debate.