Kevin Humphreys (Dublin South East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Leaving aside this particular case, I have always felt we should be very careful regarding what we have in our Constitution and that many of these matters should be dealt with through legislation, particularly as medical science is evolving all the time. Difficult circumstances arise, such as those relating to the Dublin-Monaghan bombings mentioned by the Senator, and there will be other issues of this nature in the future.

Personally, I do not believe we need to repeal the eighth amendment. Rather, I am of the view that both Houses need to deal with this sensitive matter through legislation. That legislation should give us the flexibility to respond to certain tragic events. I am facing into an election and perhaps Senator Walsh is also facing into one. I am not too sure whether he is running again. However, other Members of this House will be running in the forthcoming elections. If re-elected, in our role as legislators, we should be brave enough to legislate on issues like this. I am concerned by the fact that we rush to embed things in our Constitution that should not be in it. These Houses have the capability to deal with these issues, as we have shown through the hearings held here by the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health and Children, under the chairmanship of Deputy Jerry Buttimer, on the X case legislation.