Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin North Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Being an advocate of legislation to deal with the judgment in the X case has been a lonely position to adopt. My party, the Labour Party, has fought a lonely battle on this front for 20 years. Before the last general election no other party mentioned the X case. We stood alone on that platform and suffered the consequences. As a a party, we take the flak, receive the vulgar letters and the abusive telephone calls and encounter the protests. It is our family members who are targeted, homes that are picketed and campaigning that is systematically disrupted. It is we who suffer the dirty tricks of other candidates, both party members and Independents, who scaremonger in whispered tones on the doorstep and laugh at us when the inevitable happens when we knock on the same doors. However, we have no difficulty with this when we know we are right. What we want to do is to protect women and vindicate their constitutional rights and the sacred votes of the people cast in 1992 and 2002. Neither I nor my party have any apology to make in regard to the course we are taking because we know that it will lead to legislation being presented to the House by the sovereign Government of the land, legislation that will be scrutinised by the Office of the Attorney General and survive the many challenges that will inevitably follow in every court.

I thank the hundreds of my constituents who contacted me, horrified by recent events and determined not to be intimidated any longer, to demand legislation. I pay tribute also to the dignity of those who have taken part in vigils outside Leinster House, including this evening, and those who have marched through Dublin city and attended demonstrations throughout the world. My sister in London reported that she felt sick in her stomach thinking of Savita and that she had flash memories of the people who had shouted at us during the election campaign.

In this debate what we witness from one side is a corruption of language. How dare they describe themselves as being pro-life if they let a situation to persist where women's lives are endangered, rather than introducing the legislation the Supreme Court and the people have demanded? How dare they describe anybody as being pro-abortion? I do not know anybody who is. Abortion is always a tragedy, but it is a greater tragedy to put at risk the life of a mother to satisfy the washed-out ideology of a failed Ireland.

I have no interest in political perception or showmanship. I vote to win. Unfortunately, the legislation before us has no chance of success in the House and it would have a smaller chance of success were it to be challenged in the Four Courts. However, I am convinced that we will legislate as a Government. Let us not be divided by tactics; rather, let us be united by our determination. We have more allies on this issue within the House now than we have ever had and refuse to be intimidated any longer. The day is gone when the fanatical tactics of a few dominated the considered compassionate view of the many. This is a Government that takes its responsibilities seriously. We will act in order that no woman or medical professional will be in any doubt as to his or her constitutional and legislative rights and responsibilities. Too often in the recent past we have been ashamed as a people internationally. On this issue we will not be found wanting.

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