Pat Buckley (Cork East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It is a privilege to stand in the Chamber and talk on a very sensitive issue but also one that is long overdue to be dealt with. The first point I want to raise is the history of this country when it comes to women's rights, which has been abysmal and shameful, and I think everybody has a part to play in that. I want to pay tribute to everybody who took a stand in 1983, which includes women and men. If anybody wants to know how old I was in 1983, they can Google it.

I am a realist when it comes to this matter. One of the issues that has struck me over the years - I have a personal interest in it - is that which relates to the mother and baby homes. It was not too long ago that women were treated in this way - Members can hear how I feel in my voice. A mother wants to hold on to her child and is forced to breast-feed him facing a wall, and the child is then ripped from the mother's chest and it takes 45 years to find that child. We know who is responsible for this. It is ludicrous, criminal and downright shameful that it happened in this country. This is what is so important about this debate. It is about women's rights, about families' rights and also about men's rights, given we are partners in many what we would call marriages. It goes across a broad spectrum.

I am very open and I listen to all sides of the argument. I am lucky enough to have a wife, I have a daughter, my mother is still alive and my mother-in-law is still alive. We spoke about this in depth. We need to look at this with realism. I would hate to see my daughter being in a predicament where the State dictates to me, my wife, my mother or my mother-in-law and says, "You cannot do this", knowing that my daughter's life could be in jeopardy. These are the realities of what is happening in life. I am serious. Do we want to go back to that? My God, it is probably one of the most shameful parts of the history of this State. I appeal to people out there to be realists when it comes to this. It is not about our political careers; it is about doing the right thing. That is what we are elected to do. If we were playing on a team and there was a match, obviously, there would be an opposing set of fans and we can understand that. However, this debate is bigger than personal issues. We are setting down a marker here for the future. Let us have a proud history from 2018 and let us not go backwards anymore. I would certainly be ashamed and disgusted, as an elected representative, if we did that. We are in here to do a job, which is to work on behalf of the people and move things forward. We are supposed to be a progressive society.

A word I have listened to in the past number of days in this debate and also during the committee debates is "shame". Shame should not come into it. It is about education. The State has again let the people down in that it has not educated society enough. This grieves me. Again, it goes back to what I said - education and realism. I have heard many individual cases, although I do not like to pick out individual cases of rape, incest and medical conditions. It should not come to that. It is about making the right choices as adults and as human beings. In 2018, it should be about women having a right to decide what they are able to do with their own bodies. In the last 12 months, when out canvassing, this has probably been the most topical issue one is faced with at the doors. It is often the first thing that is thrown at me when people come to the door - "What is your stance on repealing the eighth?" My answer has always been that it has to be repealed.

I thank everybody who was involved in all aspects of the committee. I want to pay special tribute to my Sinn Féin colleagues, Senator Paul Gavan, Deputy Louise O'Reilly and Deputy Jonathan O'Brien. I know it has been strenuous for everybody but when people believe in something and believe in getting it right, they work hard and they do it to the best of their ability.

I want to finish with a quote that will possibly open Pandora's box but I think it is the most inclusive way of reflecting what has gone on here during the debates in recent days and weeks. It states, "People have different reasons for the way they live their lives. You cannot put everyone's reasons in the same box." This makes sense in that we will all be judged equally and individually but we will never all agree. In my view, I hope and pray that when this debate is over, it will be for the people outside to choose, not us inside here. I appeal to the electorate to do the right thing.

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