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

This issue was always going to be raised again in the context of the Bill previously debated in the Dáil which subsequently became the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act 2013. It was raised quite a lot during the debate on that legislation. The main focus of debate at the time was on addressing the issue of protecting the life of the mother in the context of what had happened and against the backdrop of the eighth amendment and Article 40.3.3o of the Constitution. There is no doubt, however, that there was a lot of disquiet at the time about the statutory provision for a 14 year prison term for a girl or a woman who procured an abortion, used abortion pills or otherwise terminated a pregnancy in the State. Let us think of a young girl, sitting at the end of her bed with a positive pregnancy test result, alone, vulnerable and unsure of what to do. Let us say she did actually procure abortion pills on the Internet. There have been several seizures of abortion pills being brought into the State from other countries, particularly the Netherlands. Would any of us in this House be comfortable with that girl being prosecuted in court, convicted and potentially sentenced to 14 years in prison for procuring abortion pills because of a crisis pregnancy? That is, effectively, what is in the Statute Book. I can understand the constitutional requirement to have that provision in the Statute Book. We debated this issue at length in 2013 and have debated it subsequently, but that is the fact of the matter, as things stand. If we are comfortable with that, fine, but if we are uncomfortable with it, the issue will have to be addressed. We simply cannot have a situation where there is a potential criminal conviction and a 14 year jail term for a young girl who procures abortion pills in the first trimester of a pregnancy. If the State is to be true to itself, it must either enforce the law or repeal it. In that context, repeal would be the obvious issue to address. That said, I accept the constraints. Bills similar to the one before us have consistently been brought before the Dáil in one guise or another, but we are in the middle of a process. We can debate the issue and march on the streets, but, ultimately, it is the people - possibly Parliament and then the people - who will decide, depending on what the Citizens' Assembly recommends.

We have to be honest with ourselves about the legislation and the stringent criminal terms laid out therein. Equally, we must be honest that there is little we can do until such time as we look at Article 40.3.3o and wait for the Citizens' Assembly to report. It will then be a matter for the Houses of the Oireachtas. There may be an election in the interim. Ultimately, the Dáil and the Seanad will decide on a path forward on foot of the recommendations or observations of the Citizens' Assembly. I did not support the establishment of the Citizens' Assembly at the time because I felt it would be unwieldy. We should have considered having a judge-led commission to take a quick, concise look at the issue, as happened in the the case of the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill, which formulated the debate for the then Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health and Children. That said, Judge Mary Laffoy is chairing the Citizens' Assembly and will, I hope, be seen to be impartial. The assembly is going about its work. Some are saying it is too slow, while others are saying the assembly is not delving into enough detail. We must give it time to come to its conclusions. The views of 100 of our peers will ultimately be placed before the Dáil and the Seanad and we will decide whether to retain, amend or repeal the eighth amendment. Depending on what the Citizens' Assembly recommends, Parliament will make its decision. Ultimately, we may see the exercise of the greatest example of people power in a referendum.

There is a view in middle Ireland on this issue. While there are some who are strongly on one or other side of the argument, there are people in middle Ireland who want to see some of these issues addressed but who do not want it to be done in a divisive way. Some Deputies are trying to stimulate debate, knowing full well that the constitutional requirements mean that the provisions of the Bill before us would fall at the first hurdle in a constitutional test.

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