Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent)
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I believe the module is really important because it deals with the impact of Ireland's international legal obligations in terms of our domestic law. In that respect, some people might present international law as a sort of optional extra. Will the witnesses give a little bit more detail and explain why Ireland is bound by these obligations when we talk of violation and the State being sued? Will the witnesses explain this a little bit more?

Last week at this committee there was a lot of discussion around the issue of legal uncertainty in the context of the constitutional dimensions of abortion law. Have international bodies been concerned by the uncertainty in Ireland's current abortion law? Could this topic be teased out a little bit?

Decriminalisation is not covered in the report of the Citizens' Assembly, despite the fact that many citizens asked that it would be. We raised this with Ms Justice Laffoy who seemed to be of the opinion that it did not really need to be included in the report because if the law is changed, it will automatically follow. Will the witnesses please expand on this, because they are very clearly saying that from an international human rights legal perspective, abortion must be decriminalised in all circumstances, regardless of what legislation might follow a referendum?

I turn now to the commission's view that we need to develop a health care approach to this matter.

Traditionally, in this State, Irish maternity care was dominated by the Catholic hospitals, with Catholic doctors developing the medical ethics that exist. Will the witnesses explain how international human rights law requires us to balance women's rights against institutional and personal religious freedom, and how that is balanced in other states?