Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

This issue, perhaps like no other, has been marked by the politics of delay and of hypocrisy, as well as a politics that suggests women must wait. It is 25 years since the X case when a raped and traumatised child was dragged through our courts. Since then, as the Tánaiste knows, we have had an alphabet soup of tragedy and maltreatment of women, story after story piled high. Yet the political system stood still and looked the other way.

This politics of delay cannot be tolerated any longer. The Citizens’ Assembly was intended as a vehicle of political management rather than attaining any real clarity or result. The committee will be established but that too must work expeditiously. We must have a clear sense of when the referendum will be put and when people will have the opportunity to repeal the eighth amendment. The Tánaiste’s colleague, the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Deputy Zappone, has no difficulty in stating her preference for an early referendum. Simply, will the Tánaiste confirm and clarify that this is a view shared by the Government?

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