Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister and his officials back to the House. It will certainly be a baptism of fire for the Minister over the next few months. I understand the referendum is planned to be held on 25 May. In 1983 the then very courageous Labour Party Minister for Health decided not to take the Bill and transferred it to a Fine Gael Party Minister. Senator Wilson cited facts from what happened in the Seanad at that time.

As I was not a Member of the Seanad then, I will concentrate on what happened in the Dáil. Eleven Members of the Lower House voted against allowing a referendum. Let us put that point to bed. They decided there would not be a referendum at that point because they did not agree with the wording of the referendum, Article 40.3.3°, the eighth amendment, and they were not criticised for that. However, seemingly if one objects to this referendum, one is undemocratic. Let us put that notion to bed straightaway.

People like the former President, Mary Robinson, and the current President, Michael D. Higgins, voted against having a referendum at that time and I would not regard them as being undemocratic. We will get that argument clearly out of the way. I hope the Minister bears that in mind in deliberations in this regard, and that he does not show disrespect to those with very strongly held views in this House who were very satisfied that Article 40.3.3° and the eighth amendment were of service to this State. It was voted on by the late Garret FitzGerald as well for the benefit of those who might think otherwise and the then Attorney General's recommendations were overruled. He would not have been the first Attorney General who had his recommendations overruled. I am sure my colleague in the House, who was a former Attorney General, might be able to confirm that, but he probably will not because Cabinet confidentiality would probably kick in. Nevertheless, those are the facts of the case.

The proposed wording is that, "Provision may be made by law for the regulation of termination of pregnancy". Will the Minister have a draft Bill prepared before the referendum that is to be held on 25 May? That is an important issue. Will it be clearly laid out whether the Tánaiste decides the legislation requires a two thirds majority of the Dáil, or a simple majority is required and also what procedures are to be followed in the Seanad?