Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister. This legislation is the bare minimum. When Deputy Clare Daly put forward her Bill some of the Government Deputies, including those in the Labour Party, made speeches saying they would wait for this legislation. The impression they had, in good faith, was that this legislation would be a little bit beyond what is presented. I accept there is a limit on what can happen because of the Eighth Amendment, which I would favour removing, but it does not go far enough. I question whether it will meet the needs of the European Court of Human Rights, and we could be back here sooner than we think. Instead of being instructed to do things from outside, I hope we can grow up and start recognising that Irish people have moved on and that women in this country can be trusted. That should come across in this discussion. We should take the responsibility of saying this is what we need to do in a modern country that has a duty of care to women, particularly when they experience rape, incest or fatal foetal abnormality. From that point of view, although the proposals in this Bill are an improvement, it does not go far enough.

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