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

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this Bill. However, it is not helpful that the report is not available to aid us in a discussion of the broader issues raised by Deputy Daly's Bill. I wish to express disappointment that the report was leaked extensively over the past weeks. This is a very challenging debate. Many individuals and parties have significant concerns of conscience and concerns on religious or ethical grounds. We are legislators and we are obliged to legislate. We may need to park our individual concerns to debate the broader issues. In my view, the leaking of the report was distasteful and unnecessary. This report was commissioned by the Government as part of the programme for Government and its recommendations were to be made public. I do not understand why it was thought necessary to leak the report to various media outlets. I am not sure what this achieved. The leaking of the report did an injustice to a report which had been supported by all sides in the House.

There is an obligation on legislators to deal with this very difficult issue which has been with us since 1983. Many Governments have been blamed for failing to act on this issue. A referendum held in 1983 inserted Article 40.3.30 in the Constitution. One could argue that this article is the reason we are debating the issue today. The X case referendum was held in 1992 to deal with the right to travel and the right to information but it removed the ground for lawful termination of the threat of suicide to the life of the mother.

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