Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick East, Labour)

In the context of this debate we should be very careful what we say. We should avoid ambiguity or making implications. Since we are discussing this matter in the context of the forthcoming local elections in particular, there will be thousands of candidates discussing the issue with voters on the doorsteps. From what I have heard so far, including from Members of this House, I cannot imagine that the debate will be confined to the specific issue that people will be asked to address in the referendum. Holding such a referendum in conjunction with the local elections is a recipe for introducing bigotry, innuendo and possibly racism. That is why I feel strongly that the issue should not be addressed in this context.

The masters of the Dublin maternity hospitals went to the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform before the court judgment on whether parents had a right to remain here when their children were born in Ireland. One of the masters said on the radio this morning that the numbers are now declining. In other words, because that issue has been addressed by the courts, it may well be that we are addressing a problem that is diminishing and that can be dealt with by other means. One of those means would be to provide proper resources for the maternity hospitals. Other means include making diplomatic approaches to other countries, enforcing airline regulations and changing the law, rather than changing the Constitution, as was suggested in a recent newspaper article.

We are doing all this in the context of a dangerous interference with the interconnectedness of Articles 2 and 9 of the Constitution. It is a dangerous interference with implications for the Good Friday Agreement and the peace process in Northern Ireland. It has implications for what might happen between the parties from the extremes of both sides in the divide in Northern Ireland which must now agree with each other. We are opening something which is far more fraught with danger than what may be achieved by this referendum being passed can justify. I oppose the Bill.

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