Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

Obviously I would prefer if it was the Taoiseach answering today, no offence, because I wanted to ask him his views on two words which have not been uttered in the Dáil since it reported, namely, the Citizens' Assembly. Last autumn, the Taoiseach set up the Citizens' Assembly. He made it very clear it would do a first-class job. Ten days ago, the assembly finished its deliberations and recommended that the current eighth amendment had to go, that the Dáil had to legislate for abortion rights and that ultimately women themselves should be the people who make the decision that they need an abortion. I was wondering whether the Taoiseach, given the Citizens' Assembly was his brainchild, feels like the parent whose child has rebelled against him. It is very clear the Taoiseach thought the Citizens' Assembly was a pliable ploy that would come back with very minimal change. When we put 99 members of the public in a room and asked them to discuss this topic and asked them really to engage and debate it, they actually came back with a compassionate and realistic response. They want an end to hypocrisy.

Does the Minister agree that the Citizens' Assembly was a randomly selected representative sample of people from across the country like the Taoiseach said? If so, does he now believe that so-called "middle Ireland" might actually be more progressive than the Minister and others thought, and that the journalists who were tone policing and advocating slow change were actually behind the curve? After all, the Minister, Deputy Richard Bruton, the current Minister for Health, Deputy Simon Harris, and the previous Minister for Health, Deputy Leo Varadkar, thought it would be fine and dandy that a National Maternity Hospital could be given over to a religious order with a history of abuse and that nobody would think that a problem. They were way behind public opinion, because the general public thought otherwise.

The Tuam scandal has graphically illustrated for the public that the Catholic Church was not pro-life when it came to poor, pregnant women and their babies, but unfortunately the change in social attitudes is not reflected in this Dáil. It would appear that, right now, only Solidarity, People Before Profit and a handful of Independents have the same position on abortion as the Citizens' Assembly has recommended. Does the Minister agree that there needs to be a concerted campaign of engagement and political pressure now to bring most of the parties in the Dáil up to the level of public opinion on abortion rights? The thousands who have been demanding repeal have to actively contact and seek meetings with Deputies, telling them that they want change and a referendum. Would the Minister agree that the fifth anniversary of the death of Savita Halappanavar would be a very timely occasion for this issue to be resolved? Having the Citizens' Assembly as the chosen method of dealing with the eighth amendment, are he and his party going to accept its findings or are they going to try to water them down as has been advocated by some?

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