Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I second the amendment proposed by Senator Higgins.

This is an issue from which politicians - not in my party but others - have run away for many years. It took more than 20 years for the Supreme Court judgment of 1992 to be enacted and legislated for. That legislation almost brought down the Government. It forced the resignation of a number of members of that Government and a new political party was formed as a result. Senator Higgins has proposed a substitution facility whereby if somebody is not in a position to attend a committee hearing, somebody else can stand in in his or her place. It seems to be perfectly reasonable to have quite a number of people involved in the process. I agree with Senator Higgins that the formation of this committee leaves a lot to be desired. At the very least we are now talking about the eighth amendment and the potential for a referendum. It is quite remarkable that a committee dealing with this most sensitive of Irish political subjects would not allow a substitution mechanism. It is rumoured that the Leader will be the Chairman of the committee. We will see what happens tomorrow. I put him on notice that my party will not support any outcome that goes any way short of full repeal of the eighth amendment. I look forward to hearing other political parties' view on that.