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

That is something we will need to talk about on a cross-party basis. We need to be honest and clear about this. It would be the same people working on that legislation. It would be the same Parliament and the same Oireachtas time that would be used up. It would be the same health committee that would have to sit in session and the legislation would have to go to the Seanad as well. The likely effect of it would be to delay the main piece of legislation. This is the nature of these things. If we do this in a piecemeal manner, the big piece giving effect to what the people actually said at the weekend is the bit that will be delayed. I know there are numerous suggestions at the moment for piecemeal legislation. The Deputy has proposed something on information and the Irish Family Planning Association, IFPA, and others have proposed that too. Senator Ivana Bacik has proposed discrete legislation on decriminalisation. If we have three, four or five, or even one or two discrete, piecemeal bits of legislation going through these Houses, it will still be the exact same people working on them.

It will push back and delay the main legislation, which is the legislation which will give effect to what people said at the weekend. We need to ensure we all agree that we are willing to accept that before going down that road. It is a matter on which we are willing to talk to people on a cross-party basis.

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