Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

In my two and a half years in the House, this has certainly been the most talked about issue. Nothing else has garnered quite so much speaking time in here. The most striking point at this stage is that we seem to be no closer to clarity than we ever were. Confusion seems to abound. So much work has gone into the new legislation, yet we do not even know whether the life of Savita Halappanavar would have been saved had this legislation been in place before her death. This is incredible.

Of the 47 countries in Europe, 44 have more progressive legislation in this area. It is hard to credit the fact that, although such a large proportion of the population agrees with addressing the considerable problem in this area, an incredible fight is being put up by a small minority who have the money. The influence and power that this minority has exercised in the State has been highlighted so much in recent months.

In April 2012, a Bill to address the issue of the X case was introduced. We considered the matter again in November. At the time, the idea was that we should try to address the issue of Ireland exporting its problems. We are not doing anything about that, however. After the Bill before us is passed, will there be a decrease in the number of women going to England for abortions from Ireland? I do not believe there will be.

There are so many aspects to this legislation that really change so little. I understand that the eighth amendment will have to be tackled before this issue can be dealt with in a really substantial way. This Bill could do so much more. It is plain to all that it was difficult for the leadership of the coalition to carry everybody with it. It has had to water down the legislation so much to try to keep as many people as possible on board.

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