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

The Supreme Court issued its judgment this morning in Limerick. The Attorney General has asked for the remainder of the day to study that judgment. As Deputy McDonald rightly pointed out, it is important that we get this right. As Deputy Micheál Martin pointed out yesterday, it is important that we dot the i's and cross the t's. We do not want to make any unforced errors when it comes to a referendum on changing the Constitution. Therefore, the Attorney General has asked for the remainder of the day to consider the written judgment. I have agreed to that. The Cabinet will meet tomorrow at 11 a.m. to hear his advice. It is our intention to publish the referendum Bill tomorrow, with the possibility of its being discussed in the House tomorrow night or, if not tomorrow night, on Friday. I understand the Business Committee will meet tomorrow after the Cabinet meeting to discuss whether there will be a Friday setting or whether the Bill will be discussed on Thursday night. The publication of the Bill and its introduction in this House will allow us to establish formally a referendum commission for the referendum, which can begin its important work almost immediately. That is certainly what I wish to do.

This is going to be a profoundly deep and difficult debate for many people in this country. It is my strong wish that it be a respectful debate and one that is never personalised. I know everyone in this House will want to show leadership in that regard and ensure the debate is respectful of all sides and opinions because people are entitled to their personal opinions on this deep issue of conscience. Above all, the referendum will be about asking the Irish public to change our Constitution – our basic and most fundamental law – to say that we, as a country, people and state, trust women to make these decisions for themselves and to decide in the early weeks of pregnancy whether they want to be pregnant and whether they are able and willing to be mothers. It is also a question of trusting our doctors to determine later in pregnancy when it is medically appropriate for a termination to occur. That is fundamentally the question we will ask the Irish people to answer, ideally with the co-operation of the House, before the end of May this year.

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