Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, United Left) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Daly for bringing the Bill before the House. I have no doubt the Bill will be voted down; that is the predetermined position. The issue will not go away, as the Minister of State knows, unless people in government realise that denying people choice is not good enough any more. Crisis pregnancies are a reality. Every year 4,000 or 5,000 women travel, and that has been happening for decades.

Last night the Minister, Deputy Varadkar, accepted, as others have said, that our abortion laws are too restrictive. I welcome that statement from the Minister, as well as the statement that the eighth amendment has a chilling effect on doctors and, in general, his assertion that the insertion of the of the Constitution as worded was a mistake. Yet, a Bill was brought before the House in January 2014 which was premised on that mistake. It did not take into consideration the women who face fatal foetal abnormalities, rape etc. That is something the Government has to recognise. I do not want to be political, but it needs to hang its head in shame. It had an opportunity to say we should repeal the eighth amendment to allow these issues to be addressed between a doctor and a woman in regard to her health and personal autonomy. That is what this should be about.

One cannot be on both sides of the debate. If one thinks the eighth amendment or its wording was a mistake, one should stand for its repeal and vote with the Opposition tonight. One should vote with us tonight on the basis of starting a debate in society about moving the issue on quickly. If one has a problem with the wording, let us sit down and have a debate on the issue with the men and women in our communities.

If one thinks our abortion laws are too restrictive and compromise best medical practice and women's health, one should do something to sort it out, rather than saying we have to wait until after the next election and address the issue in a year or two years' time. The Ireland of today is very different to that of 1983 in regard to these issues. Most people who voted in the referendum are 49 years of age or older. That means that most of those who voted are at the age of menopause and will never face that situation again. The vast majority of women over the age of 18 years have not had the opportunity to vote on this issue.

The point has been made that the people are way ahead of the Government on this issue. That is correct; all the figures have been given. There was a poll in the Sunday Independent. The interesting fact which has not been dealt with is that the Millward Brown opinion poll in September found that only 31% of people are happy to wait for action on this issue until after the next general election. They want a referendum on the eighth amendment. That figure is the same for women as it is for men.

On that basis, the Minister of State should have the confidence to be able to say to people that the eighth amendment should be repealed. It is causing all sorts of problems for women across the board in all sorts of situations and in terms of the right of women to have abortions. That has to be taken into consideration in dealing with this issue because until the death of Savita Halappanavar many people thought that women in this country had the right to an abortion.

I am very glad to see some of the unions supported this Bill. The perspective from which they are coming it important. They have said that the cost of travelling to Britain for an abortion is 10% of the annual income of low paid workers. It is hypocritical of the State to tell people they can go to Britain, the Netherlands or elsewhere for abortion services. It is like telling people that they cannot have an abortion in our front garden, but can have one in the back garden.

Information on immigrant workers has been released from the IFPA and is particularly poignant. An abortion can cost from €600 to €2,000, excluding the cost of travel and accommodation. An asylum seeker receives a weekly allowance of €19.10. Migrant women have been forced to continue pregnancies because of travel restrictions. The Minister of State has an opportunity to address the issue and should not wait until after the general election.

People have used terms like "pro-life" and "pro-choice", but I do not agree with those terms. I am pro-choice and pro-life, as are many other people. If one examines the figures, one finds the middle ground has moved and is demanding that the Government repeals the eighth amendment.

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