Martin Conway (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Kathleen Lynch.

I have listened very carefully to much deliberation and discussion on this very sensitive issue for several months. I attended a significant portion of the meetings of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health and Children and listened to many of the experts. I have listened to many constituents both for and against this legislation. I have also listened to families of people who, unfortunately, have recently taken their own lives and have reflected on the very important decisions we must make here. This issue has been bubbling throughout my lifetime. The Minister of State knows better than most that this has been ongoing for 30 years. It was extremely divisive back in the 1980s and continues to be very divisive. People have very strongly held feelings on both sides of the issue. There are 5,000 of our citizens who have had to go abroad. I believe that is a conservative number. It is a significant number of people over a ten or 15 year period who considered that they had no choice but to go abroad. It is not acceptable that they feel the State has let them down to such a degree that they must travel in order to get some comfort in their lives. It has shamed us as a nation that we have not dealt with this issue. We have not treated or respected the 5,000 citizens who must go abroad. They are citizens, too. They hold Irish passports, vote in elections and the modus operandi of the State do not care about them, which is totally unacceptable.

It is absolutely appalling to see how women have been treated in this society, going back generations. Look at how they have been treated in respect of work opportunities, discrimination in the workplace, the political system and in general. Until recently there were places such as golf clubs which had all-male memberships. Women were treated appallingly. It is interesting to note that the 5,000 people who have to go abroad are women, which says a lot and smacks of hypocrisy. I would be totally uncomfortable with having abortion on demand, but we have to be realistic as a country and realise that we are exporting a problem. We are relying on another jurisdiction to solve our problems. That is not good enough and we must mature as a nation.

This legislation provides some certainty for the medical profession. We saw what happened in Galway in the Savita Halappanavar case. I am not saying this legislation would have saved her life, but it would have given her a far better chance. If it were in place, there would at least be legal certainty for doctors. I have a great deal of faith in the medical professionals who do a wonderful job. It is appalling to think the Legislature did not provide them with the certainty that they required. We have seen thousands of people die as a result of suicide in the past decade. Are we saying to their families that we do not take the threat of suicide seriously for a woman just because she is pregnant and, for whatever reason, has suicidal intent? Are we saying to the thousands of families who have lost loved ones to suicide that we are not dealing with this issue? Suicide is a serious problem. The Minister of State, because of her portfolio, is probably more aware than most parliamentarians of the devastating effect of suicide. I have thought long and hard about this and do not accept that section 9 of the Bill should not be included. I have not spoken very much on this issue. I have kept my own counsel, but I believe the provisions are in place to ensure that if somebody has a termination because she is suicidal, it will be for that reason. I have faith in the medical experts and that the proper structure will be put in place.

I deeply respect the views of those who differ from me. This is an issue of conscience. Perhaps it is time we examined the Whip system, that we embraced a new form of politics, not necessarily on this issue. Why should it happen on this issue?