Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Government and the Cabinet have not yet made a decision on the issue. I am keen to hear people's views. We had a good discussion at the Cabinet last week. I also attended a meeting yesterday of my parliamentary party which lasted for five hours to hear views across the parliamentary party on the issue. There will be a debate on it in the Dáil and the Seanad in the next couple of days. At that point, having listened to the views of Members and the public, a proposal will be brought to the Cabinet. It will need to have two elements, including a referendum Bill to allow for the repeal of the eighth amendment. The Government does not propose to come up with a new wording, but one thing that has to be considered is the proposal of the Citizens' Assembly to have an enabling provision specifying that legislation in this area would be the sole prerogative of the Oireachtas, not the courts, because, as the Deputy knows, there are other rights listed in the Constitution. We are awaiting advice from the Attorney General on that issue because we would find ourselves in a very strange position if we were to repeal the eighth amendment only to find that there were other rights to life in other parts of the Constitution that might make any legislation we would pass unconstitutional. We have to obtain the Attorney General's advice on that issue. The Government will also produce the heads - a detailed draft scheme - of any legislation which would be brought before this House after a referendum should it be passed. We need to bear in mind that once, or if, the eighth amendment is removed from the Constitution, the legislation would then be in the purview of the Oireachtas and that the Government does not have a majority in the House.

See this speech in context