Rónán Mullen (Independent)

When I heard Senator Mac Conghail recall his theatrical experience and, at the same time, wish Senator O'Brien well, I naturally thought he would continue and invite his erstwhile colleague, Senator Coghlan, to break a leg as he goes forward into his new party.

On a more serious note, I share with Senator Bacik the view that the House should have a debate on abortion, given that it is the 20th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision in the X case. I do not believe we should necessarily wait until the report of the expert group. It would be appropriate for us to have a debate very soon on the state of abortion law in Ireland and in other countries. We could reflect in particular on Britain's barbaric laws in this area.

I believe Senator Bacik was both legally and factually inaccurate, on any objective reading, when she wrote in The Irish Times the other day that the decision of the European Court of Human Rights effectively mandates legislation on abortion.