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

Gabh mo leithscéal. As Deputy Bríd Smith said, one can get various political opinions, but one can also get various legal opinions. I am simply making an observation, as I see it. We will be discussing the findings of the Citizens' Assembly, either at the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health or in formal plenary session of the Dáil, very soon. The assembly is to report in the first half of 2017. There are lots of issues relevant, including Article 40.3.3o, the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act and the criminal sanctions included in that Act. We must consider the difficulties faced by young vulnerable girls who have nowhere to go, who are full of fear and panic and who go onto the Internet. We must think of the criminal sanctions that hang over them or their friends who may assist them. We must think of this when we are debating the issue in the future. I hope the debate on the Bill will keep that issue to the fore. At the same time, we must be honest with ourselves. We cannot amend the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act while the Citizens' Assembly is in session, deliberating and coming to a definitive decision on the recommendations that will ultimately be debated in this House. It is unfortunate that this issue is again being used in a divisive way when a lot of people would like to see us deal with it in a very compassionate, humane manner.

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