Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

With the agreement of the House, I will share my time with Deputy Michael McGrath.

It is with regret that, once again, I rise to express sympathy with the family of Savita Halappanavar. Last April, we debated a Private Member's Bill, introduced by Deputy Clare Daly, to legislate on the X case. At that time, most Deputies said we would await the report of the expert group chaired by Mr. Justice Sean Ryan and, on foot of that, would have a calm, rational, reflective and respectful debate to try to find a solution to the difficulties in which we now find ourselves. The death of Savita Halappanavar has charged the atmosphere in an emotive way and many people are expressing views more forthrightly than in that previous debate. People are conscious of the sensitivities that exist.

We face the difficulty presented by Article 40.3.3o of the Constitution and its interpretation by the Supreme Court in the X case. The views of Deputies are already showing serious divergence as to what we can, must or should do. No matter what we do, any regulation or legislation must comply with Article 40.3.3o, as interpreted by the Supreme Court in the X case. Anything beyond that will require a decision of the Irish people. We must be conscious of that. We cannot accommodate everyone's view within the confines of this debate. It will be very difficult to come to a final conclusion. Legislation must not only be sensitive to the views expressed in this House, but must also be enacted in the context of a society that is divided on this issue.

Let us be clear, it is divided. As a young lad I observed the 1983 campaign, wondering what all of this was about, and I have seen the effects of the 1992 and 2002 campaigns. Some people might say nothing was done but while nothing was achieved, we tried to do things. They may not have met with universal approval in this Chamber and they certainly did not meet with universal approval outside it but efforts were made and unfortunately they did not succeed in addressing any of the concerns that are being expressed in the context of what is required now to bring clarity to the issue. We also have to take note of what has been said by eminent obstetricians and masters of some of the maternity hospitals around the State, who say clarity must be brought to bear and the only people who can do this are the people in this Chamber.

The next question is how we bring about that clarity. The Minister of State mentioned legislation but often people react by being defensive. Others are open about the need for broader based legislation to accommodate fatal foetal abnormalities and other issues such as rape and incest. Clearly, these are well beyond the remit of what we are being asked to do by the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights when it found we were in breach of the women's human rights in the A, B and C case, and by the Supreme Court to deal with the issue of the X case.

That is where we are and over the next number of weeks we must have a calm debate. I say to Deputy McDonald and the other sponsors of this debate that I felt that we should not have moved the motion at this time, a week in advance of getting an expert report that would give an opportunity to evaluate the informed opinions of experts in obstetrics, gynaecology and the law and that might be able to give us a solution that will address this issue. Even within Sinn Féin, within Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and within the Labour Party, there are differing opinions on the issue. If we cannot reach some form of consensus that accommodates the very broad views, which will be difficult, we could be back here again and again. This does the people of the country a disservice and, more importantly, its does a disservice to those depending on maternity services while those providing them will find it difficult to operate. That is the challenge for everyone in this Chamber tonight and in the coming weeks.

If the report is published and we have an informed debate, we can deal with this. There is no point in our introducing other issues unless people are willing to say we must repeal the eighth amendment to the Constitution and overrule the X case with a constitutional referendum because otherwise we are broadening the debate beyond our remit.

I do not want to be critical at this time but I was concerned at the announcement there would be an investigation into the tragic death of Savita Halappanavar, that it would be carried out by people closely associated with the hospital and the HSE and that it would not be fully independent. I do not, however, mean to cast any aspersions on the integrity and competence of those who were named on the inquiry. There are staff in the Galway hospital who are distraught at this tragic death. They feel they are the scapegoat or are being forgotten about in the broader discussion. I spoke to some people who are shattered about what has happened. We must be conscious of that but first and foremost we must be conscious that a woman died in a maternity hospital in Galway and we must ensure her family are consulted about the inquiry. There are protocols about the investigation of deaths in maternity hospitals but this was poorly handled and there should have been broad consultation with the family and engagement at an early stage. We now need a fully open inquiry that is independent and can get to the truth.

This issue can be used by both sides to be more divisive. We need an informed debate and whatever the circumstances and the reasons why Savita Halappanavar died must be brought into the domain to ensure we are not apportioning blame wrongly. We must find the truth of the matter. We must also instil confidence that our maternity services are, by and large, the safest in the world. We must say that consistently because of the negative publicity around the world. We have a safe maternity system and its integrity must be protected. That is why an independent inquiry is so necessary.

I urge the Minister to publish the report that is being overseen by Mr. Justice Ryan. The longer there is a vacuum and the longer we assume what is in it, the more the debate can become acrimonious, convoluted or complicated. I urge that when the Cabinet meets, the report is published immediately. Let us have the debate and if we can find some way to address this issue and give clarity that addresses the A, B and C cases in the European Court of Human Rights and provides guidance for those who provide services, we will have done some good in this Chamber. While people bring other issues into the debate, it will make it more complex and difficult to reach a consensus to ensure women can be confident that when they go into a maternity hospital, they will be treated with respect and dignity and are afforded all treatment unhindered to ensure their lives are protected.

The Government must publish the report and ensure the investigation into the death of Savita Halappanavar is fully independent and worked though as expeditiously as possible while getting to the truth of the matter. Those are two crucial issues that will inform us as to what we should do to address this divisive and sensitive issue.

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