Clare Daly (Dublin North, United Left)
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71. To ask the Minister for Health in view of the comments of the UN Human Rights Committee and the Ms Y case, his views on the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act not being fit for purpose; his plans to replace it and his further plans to address the constitutional impediments of the Eighth Amendment. [36747/14]

Clare Daly (Dublin North, United Left)
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What is the Minister going to do about the comments at the UN Human Rights Committee which roundly condemned Ireland as contributing to the mental suffering of women by failing to address the abortion reality? These warnings tragically have been vindicated quickly in the horrific Miss X case which shows that the legislation the Government introduced last year does not give a woman whose life is in danger access to an abortion to which she is legally entitled. Is it time to repeal that legislation and the eight amendment to the Constitution as suggested by the United Nations?

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy is aware, Article 40.3.3^oof the Irish Constitution states:

The State acknowledges the right to life of the unborn and, with due regard to the equal right to life of the mother, guarantees in its laws to respect, and, as far as practicable, by its laws to defend and vindicate that right.

Clare Daly (Dublin North, United Left)
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We do not need any further report, although the drip-feed in the media indicates that the information we will get will be illuminating. The guidelines reiterate that the purpose of the Act introduced last year was to confirm the general prohibition on abortion, but that was not the case. It was to legislate for the lawful circumstances in which a woman was entitled to have an abortion in this country, when her life was in danger. Tragically, the Y case proved that a woman who had met the criteria was unable to access her lawful right to have an abortion here because of the inadequacies of the legislation introduced by the Government. We have doctors and the medical profession operating on the basis of a criminal prohibition, which has a chilling effect. We have excessive scrutiny by the medical profession, which adds to the mental anguish experienced. Interestingly, the UN Human Rights Committee pinpointed the circumstances of Ms Y when it referred to the discriminatory impact of the legislation on people who did not have a right to travel. When we add this and the inefficiencies of the legislation to the fact that 160,000 Irish women have had to travel for abortions in recent decades, does the Minister believe that in the interests of decency, respect and the recognition of the abortion reality, they should be able to have that treatment at home rather than being forced to travel?

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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There are various accounts in the newspapers of the Y case. The reason I want to wait for the report is that there is information in the newspapers about which I know nothing. Therefore, I want to wait for the report, to see all of the facts and consider them. I do not want to jump to conclusions and I am concerned that people on both extremes of the issue, within a day or two of the case happening, had already decided that everything that had had happened confirmed their pre-existing views of the issues involved. That is not a good approach to adopt.

The UN Human Rights Committee recommended that Ireland's laws on abortion be liberalised, but it did not go as far as the Deputy seems to recommend - abortion on request or demand. The Deputy is being a little selective in using the UN committee to bolster her case.

It has not endorsed the Deputy's view of abortion.

The purpose of the Protection of Life in Pregnancy Act was, first, to confirm the general prohibition on abortion in the State and, second, to codify and provide in law for the legal termination of pregnancies where a life was at risk. A termination of pregnancy did occur in the case referred to by the Deputy, but it occurred by Caesarean section rather than being an abortion due to the gestation of the foetus.

Clare Daly (Dublin North, United Left)
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I agree with the Minister that some of the media commentary has been very unhelpful. However, I do not believe his points about extremes in the debate. The reality has been, as successive opinion polls have shown, that the majority of Irish people believe a woman should have access to a termination in a wide range of circumstances where her health is in danger, where she is the victim of rape, in the case of fatal foetal abnormalities and so on. The recent opinion polls also indicate we should be repealing the eighth amendment, given that most of us were not around when that legislation was brought forward.

What the UN Human Rights Committee actually stated was that we should look at legislating for those circumstances, including looking at the difficulties being caused by the constitutional scenario, which ludicrously and appallingly equated the life of a grown woman with that of a foetus. That is what it asked us to look at; that is the truth and I am sorry if the Minister does not like it. I am asking him, as a young man, if he thinks it is a little ridiculous that we enacted legislation that would only ever deal with a tiny minority of women who needed to secure an abortion where their life was in danger, when, for each of these women, there are thousands of other Irish women every year whom we say have a constitutional right to travel to England or Holland for an abortion, but they cannot access that medical treatment here at home. Does the Minister, as a doctor and a young man, think that is an abomination in the modern era?

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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What the opinion polls show is that a clear majority of the Irish population still do not support abortion on demand or request. I understand that is the Deputy's position. It is one she is-----

Clare Daly (Dublin North, United Left)
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I am not talking about my position.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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It is a position she is entitled to hold, but it is not the majority view in the State, based on the opinion polls to which she refers. I will give my opinion as a doctor and a young man at a later stage. However, I am Minister for Health and the Government's position is clear - we have no plans to repeal the eighth amendment. It is important to bear in mind that if the eighth emendment were to be repealed, it would result in the removal from the Constitution of any protection afforded to the life of the mother and the unborn child.

The Deputy will recall, for example, that the first divorce referendum was unsuccessful and that it was successful the second time because people knew what they would be replacing it with. It was replaced with a different amendment and the legislation was published. That is not what the Deputy is proposing. It appears that what she is proposing is just the deletion of the amendment and allowing the Dáil to enact any legislation it likes. I believe people would have a difficulty in voting in a referendum in those circumstances.

Clare Daly (Dublin North, United Left)
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Then regulate it like other medical procedures.