Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I begin by placing on the Dáil record my deepest sympathy to the family and friends of Savita Halappanavar whose tragic death has moved people across Ireland and across the world. I pay tribute also to the courage of Savita's husband, Praveen, and their family for speaking out about their ordeal in such forthright terms, though the attention this has brought can only have made their time of mourning more difficult. In doing so the family has sought justice for Savita and safety for women who may face similar situations.

It should not take the tragic death of a woman in an Irish hospital to alert legislators to the need to address long-identified deficiencies in our laws relating to the protection of the life of an expectant woman, but it has done so. It has alerted the thousands of people who demonstrated around the country in recent days under banners bearing two most powerful words - never again. The tragedy has again challenged us as legislators to step up to the mark on this most difficult issue and no political party is immune from that.

I refute the spurious accusations that people who have come onto the streets in the wake of this tragedy are opportunists. The same accusation has been made against Sinn Féin's tabling of this motion. It is a most insensitive accusation. There is no party political advantage in this for any party represented in this House and there is certainly none for Sinn Féin. The opportunist approach, in terms of seeking party political advantage, would be to try to avoid the issue as much as possible. There is ample evidence of this across this Chamber and in the utterances and media performances of some beyond these walls. However, we have not done so. We have long had a policy which calls for what this motion seeks, which is the introduction of legislation to give effect to the 1992 judgment of the Supreme Court in the X case, to protect pregnant women where their lives are in real danger and to give legal certainty to medical professionals.

I wish to restate Sinn Féin's position for the sake of clarity. Sinn Féin is not in favour of abortion. We believe all possible means of education and support services should be in place. However, in cases of rape or incest, or where a woman's life or mental health is at risk or in grave danger, Sinn Féin argues that the final decision should rest with the woman concerned. That said, not all Sinn Féin Members concur with that policy. It is a most contentious issue with widely differing and strongly and sincerely held views in all political parties. Let us be mature and honest, and acknowledge that to each other. It has cut across Irish society in a very divisive way on many occasions. That could be and has been used by political parties and legislators as an excuse for inaction. However, it was never, and is certainly not now, an acceptable reason for doing nothing.

During the course of the debate a number of swipes were made at Sinn Féin. I can understand the motivation behind these. After all, Deputies, who are being whipped to vote against a motion they strongly support, will want to strike out at someone. So it was with Deputy Conway's remarks last night.

She conveniently forgot to mention that the Sinn Féin members in the Dáil last April voted for X-case focused legislation to be processed beyond Second Stage when she and the Labour Party voted against it.

Our position on abortion in the Six Counties has also been misrepresented. Sinn Féin does not support the extension of the 1967 Abortion Act to the North. We say that what is now required is clear and robust guidance which protects the life of the mother. That position is in line with our party policy on an all-Ireland basis and in line with this motion. There is no difference in our policy North and South, as some have tried to claim. Others have been galloping across the media, anxious to be seen, if not heard, talking themselves into knots as they endeavour to avoid the issue.

I believe that the tragic death of Savita Halappanavar and the discussion which has followed has opened the eyes of many people to the dangerous reality that the ambiguity in our laws has created. It was for this reason and this reason alone that Sinn Féin brought forward our Private Members' motion. The Dáil needs to reflect in a timely manner to the concerns of those who elect us and to address the pressing issues that we as legislators are elected to address.

The motion seeks an acknowledgement of realities. It asks the Dáil to acknowledge the reality thatthe absence of the required legislation denies women protection and the right to obtain a termination in life-threatening circumstances. It asks the Dáil to acknowledge also that the lack of legislation creates an ambiguous legal situation for clinicians. Can anyone here deny, as the motion states, that it is regrettable that successive governments and Ministers for Health have failed to legislate? That at least is something upon which I and the Minister of State will agree. We need immediate action. We have waited too long and have not received even an indication or a signal that the Government will legislate, and I repeat will legislate. That intention should be made clear by the Government now, here tonight. The Government’s failure to give that commitment is very worrying. So too was the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch’s exhortation that we should let, as she put it "wiser heads prevail". Is that how she and her Labour Party fellow Ministers in Government justified their decision to back the Minister, Deputy James Reilly, when their party and ministerial colleague sacrificed herself on the pyre of accountability and standards in ministerial office? Wiser heads how are you. It is tantamount to saying, "leave it to your betters". I am surprised at the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch and I never thought I would hear such rubbish from her in this Chamber.

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