Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

When the Taoiseach spoke at last night's press conference, he showed leadership and spoke for all of us who want to see the eighth amendment repealed. I thank the Taoiseach most sincerely for that.

Today is a momentous day for Irish women and Irish society. The insertion of the eighth amendment into the Constitution was a grave wrong perpetrated on Irish women. My colleague, Deputy McDonald, said it best when she said the eighth amendment was in effect a constitutional coup and the reactionary codification of the suppression of women.

There are those who have never stopped campaigning against the eighth amendment. They have been campaigning since 1983. Some, like my parents and people in this Chamber, were campaigning beforehand to ensure it did not get in there in the first place. They have been joined by many young people and the protests have not gone away. Indeed, the Taoiseach will be aware that the protests have intensified, from the blog posts and articles to the lobby e-mails, meetings at constituency clinics, tweets, online campaigns, the difficult conversations and the easy ones, right up to the marches and protests. We would never have arrived at this point without their courage and activism. In many ways, today is their day.

I must also offer thanks again to the work of the Citizens' Assembly and my Oireachtas colleagues on the Joint Committee on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution. The findings, as expressed by them, left no option but to proceed to call a referendum on the issue. It now falls to those of us who want to see that change and see the eighth amendment banished as a relic of the past to join together, stay strong and campaign as one to see the eighth amendment gone.

I welcome the confirmation that the Taoiseach and the Minister for Health will campaign for repeal. Likewise, I and Sinn Féin will be on that campaign trail. It behoves those of us politicians who believe in repeal to campaign for the change we really want to see. That is what politics is about. It is about real political leadership. We repealers must be prepared to debate, campaign, canvass and be respectful, even when that respect is not always evident. We must use the facts and speak to the people, who I firmly believe are ready for this change. Those of us who support repeal must come together and be unified in our campaign. Perhaps to demonstrate that, I am offering to pop over to Dublin West, where the Taoiseach and I, along with Deputy Coppinger, Deputy Burton and councillors from all parties, can come together and knock on a few doors. Perhaps the Taoiseach might join me in Fingal to do the same.

I would like to ask the Taoiseach to commit to publishing in full the advice of the Attorney General. The decision to repeal and have an enabling clause in the Constitution for the Oireachtas to legislate was not endorsed by the Joint Committee on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution. I believe it is necessary for all politicians and the public to be fully informed on this matter. Will the Taoiseach state his commitment to holding that referendum before the end of May to facilitate students and young people being allowed to vote?

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