Mrs. Justice Catherine McGuinness:

There was a range of questions and I will try to deal with as many as I can. With regard to the question from Senator Mullen, which is trying to flush out whether we have any dire back-up here, I do not belong to any group of any kind on this. I have already made it clear in my initial statement that I am a member of the Church of Ireland and was part of its working group to frame its statement on this, which clearly takes the middle ground in saying it is very much opposed to abortion but accepts there are cases of strict medical and other necessity in which it may occur. Members all received that submission.

Perhaps I should, to make clear what my position might be to Senator Mullen, repeat what was stated by the standing committee of the General Synod of the Church of Ireland in 1983:

In our opinion a proposed amendment to the Constitution and a referendum will not alter the human situation as it exists in this country, contribute to its amelioration or propose a responsible and informed attitude to the issue of abortion. We gravely doubt the wisdom of using constitutional prohibitions as a means of dealing with complex moral and social problems.

I still agree with what was said in 1983 but we must deal with what we have now. That is my background for Senator Mullen, but I have no political background. He has a religious background as well.