Ivana Bacik (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State to the House and, like all of us, join him in expressing my revulsion at the horrific attacks in Nice last night.

On behalf of the Labour group, I wish to speak against this motion to establish a citizens' assembly. We will be opposing it in the Seanad as we did in the Dáil. Our primary reason is that, as a pro-choice party, we are against the establishment of any mechanism that would delay the holding of a referendum to repeal the eighth amendment. We want that referendum and placed this issue in our manifesto. We in the Labour Women group published legislation that the Oireachtas should put in the place of any text in the Constitution. The Constitution is no place to regulate as complex and sensitive an issue as abortion.

We are concerned that no timeframe is provided for the deliberations of the assembly on the first issue listed, that of the eighth amendment. The motion provides that when the assembly reports, that report will go first to a committee of both Houses and only then will be brought to the Houses themselves for debate. This could significantly delay the holding of a referendum on repeal of the eighth amendment. For 33 years, which is too long, we as legislators have shirked our duty to repeal that amendment and legislate on this issue. We should not need to kick the can down the road any further. However, we will of course work with any process that brings about the holding of a repeal referendum. For this reason, we will support the sensible amendment proposed by Senators Ruane and Higgins providing for a tight timeframe within which the assembly should report on the eighth amendment.

We also support the sensible suggestions proposed by the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, ICCL, in its blueprint for a citizens' assembly. We are concerned that, as constructed, the motion does not provide for the tight timeframe that is required. That said, the citizens' assembly is a better model than the judge-led commission that Fianna Fáil is proposing. I see no need for that.