Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I join Senator Ó Clochartaigh in congratulating Galway on being selected to be European Capital of Culture in 2020. Galway is my hometown and I am delighted with its success. I congratulate Limerick's bid and the Three Sisters bid of Waterford, Wexford and Kilkenny for also putting forward visions of what a society embedded in and deeply engaged with culture could look like.

Time was constrained in the previous debate and perhaps the Minister of State did not have time to address some of the concerns that were raised. I hope he will address them when he responds to this debate. I specifically refer to the concerns of older people that this process will not serve to further delay the implementation of the national positive ageing strategy in any sense or form. Reassurance is needed for all of our citizens and, as has been emphasised previously, a repeal of the eighth amendment will be the first issue considered by the citizens' assembly. Can the Minister of State assure us that the Government will act on the recommendations that will emerge with regard to the repeal of the eighth amendment and that there will be no delay on the basis of waiting for recommendations to be put forward in respect of the other areas set out? Reassurance is also needed to the effect that when it makes its presentations to the UN in September and November, the Government will not put forward the citizens' assembly as being, in itself, an adequate response to the rulings made by the UN in the context of the inhumane treatment of women in Ireland.

I wish to discuss the construction of the citizens' assembly mentioned in the Bill. I echo some of the concerns expressed by Senator Ó Clochartaigh in terms of the people who, by their very nature, will not be present. I refer to migrants who are living in direct provision. We have heard some heartbreaking cases that illustrate the impact the eighth amendment has had on people's lives, including those of Miss Y and the late Ms Savita Halappanavar. These cases have shown us the brutal impact that the eighth amendment has had on all women in Ireland who undergo pregnancy. It is important that the voices and experiences of migrants and people who are not on the electoral register be represented when it comes to the constitution of the assembly. There is the wider question of expertise. Will expertise include the experience of migrants and people not on the electoral register? Will it contemplate international practice? We need to consider what happens in other countries. Sierra has recently changed its legislation in this area and reframed it from a human rights perspective. There are numerous examples of countries which have grappled with this issue and which have found solutions. I urge that international, human rights, medical and legal expertise should be contemplated within the membership of the assembly.

We have talked about people who might not be able to afford the time. People with serious concerns have been silenced in this debate. This debate will have to happen again after the eighth amendment has been repealed because there are women in Ireland who have been silenced. They cannot speak about their experiences because the threat of being criminalised hangs over them. There are medical professionals who cannot speak openly and honestly about the issue because the law, as it stands, does not allow them to do so. They cannot speak of their experiences and about what they know. I remind the House and the Government that we will have an ongoing conversation on this matter. I hope that when the shadow of the eighth amendment is removed, we will emerge with a society in which all people can participate in a compassionate and nuanced discussion on how to legislate in this area.

The Bill seeks permission for access to the electoral register to be granted. I urge the Government to use the electoral register for its true purpose, that is to allow people to vote and exercise their electoral mandate in order to repeal the eighth amendment and have a referendum. That is the true and ultimate purpose of an electoral register. In 1992, I first protested against the eighth amendment. At the time I was a teenager and I was shocked and worried by what happened to another teenager in the X case. Since then, thousands of women have travelled, many of whom were not even born in 1992. Many of them are on the electoral register. Many of them may not feel confident to join a citizens' assembly should they get that phone call but all of them should be afforded an opportunity to express their opinions and use ballot box.