Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am merely pointing out that the Minister said yesterday that the phrase "cooling-off" was disgusting. The Irish Examinerattributed those words to the Tánaiste some time in May. This is a simple matter. We cannot say something today and forget about it tomorrow, even if the Minister would like to do that. Yesterday, the Minister described those words as disgusting. The Tánaiste said that the cooling-off period would involve counselling and offers of alternatives to abortion. We are now trying to ensure that the law reflects what the Tánaiste, the second highest officeholder in the land, said during the campaign. The Minister will express his usual fake outrage and say this is anti-woman and so on but we are trying to ensure that a full range of information is available to women considering abortion, nothing more and nothing less. This not only reflects what the Tánaiste said during the campaign but it is also prudent from a doctor's point of view, as the Chairman would know, to ensure full consent is given to an abortion.