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

I want to add to what I said earlier by acknowledging the role of smaller parties and indeed Independents in this campaign, whether it is the Green Party, the Social Democrats or others, as well as parties of the left. As regards my constituency colleague, Deputy Coppinger, I want to particularly recognise her early role in putting this matter on the political agenda and raising it in this House, perhaps at a time when many of us would have preferred not to deal with it. It is only right, now that this question is being put to the people, to acknowledge the early role of Deputy Coppinger, Deputy Clare Daly and others in that regard.

In terms of the women of Ireland today, there are approximately 60,000 births here every year, which means that at this moment in time there must be about 40,000 women in Ireland who are pregnant. I absolutely agree with the Deputy. I do not believe for a second that one of the 40,000 women who are pregnant today is walking around waiting to decide on whether she will continue that pregnancy based on the decision we make on Friday or Saturday. I cannot imagine any of those 40,000 women saying that if there is a "Yes" vote she will have an abortion and if there is a "No" vote she will not. That is not how it works. Women who feel they need to end their pregnancies will do so anyway but they do so in a dangerous way, whether it is by importing the abortion pill online or, not in a dangerous way but in a higher-risk way, travelling overseas to end their pregnancies, often much later in their pregnancies than they would if they were able to access those services here in Ireland.

In terms of the type of Ireland we want, I believe a "Yes" vote says that we want to have a more compassionate and caring Ireland and one that helps women in particular in a time of crisis. I believe it says that we accept the reality of abortion that already exists in Ireland and that we will manage it and regulate it here. However, I want the people who are worried about this decision, and there are many people who are worried about it and who will vote "No" in clear conscience, to know that if there is a "Yes" vote this weekend, Ireland will still be the same country it was before the vote. It will just be a little bit more compassionate.

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