Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

It is hard to know what is left to be said about this debacle, other than for me to be very critical of how the Government has behaved over the past two weeks. The Government brought us into this Chamber, into repeated committee meetings and into media debates under a pretence. That pretence was that it was willing to engage and listen to the concerns of the Opposition, the women of Ireland and those of us who marked out the movement to repeal the eighth amendment. The Government has not listened to anything. The aim of all of this was to talk down the clock and drag matters out. The Government pretended it was going to give the Opposition some kind of change to this very convoluted and complex document, and to assuage the fears of the Opposition about its wording, including "clinically appropriate", while arguing about the ownership of the land.

What I have found remarkable throughout this whole process, and I have been involved in all of the debates, is the fact that the Minister can sit there happily and say, "Black is white." I could pick up a document and tell him that what he is asserting is not what St. Vincent's Holdings has said; that St. Vincent's is saying, "Black is black." Even in that circumstance, the Minister will get up and say, "Black is white." The Minister of State, Deputy Butler, has done that today. The speeches of the Government Deputies have done that. The Minister started his contribution by saying that we now have an urgently needed secular, public and co-located hospital. It is not co-located. It is fully integrated with St. Vincent's Healthcare Group. It belongs to a group that has public and private hospitals, and St. Michael's Hospital. That is clear from the documents and the business case that St. Vincent's Healthcare Group has made. It is also being paid for by public money, provided by the taxpayers, who are struggling today, and will be struggling tomorrow and next week, to make ends meet in this era of hyperinflation. Those people are watching this unfold. An enormous chunk of taxpayers' money is going to fund private suites for consultants in a public hospital. It is outrageous. This is being done under a cloud of secrecy and doubt. People's concerns, bearing in mind the legacy of the Catholic Church and, in particular the Religious Sisters of Charity, have been dismissed. To do that is utterly disgraceful, and it is Government hypocrisy.

I know the personal position of the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, because she led an active campaign to try to secure a "No" vote in the repeal referendum among members of her own party. She led that campaign personally and, obviously, her position on the question of choice has not changed. This is the worrying thing. We are moving forward into a new era. Let us say that Sinn Féin continues to top the polls, sweeps the next election and trumps all other parties-----

See this speech in context