Ned O'Sullivan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am somewhat disappointed by recent events in the debate on the eighth amendment. I had felt and hoped all along that we would have a disciplined, moderate and civilised debate. I felt that we had that up to now but there has definitely been a huge dip in standards over the past weekend and in recent days.Last night's debate was most unedifying and was a setback for reasoned thinking. I do not believe any side gained ground, to be honest. We finished with the debate in this Chamber and in the Lower House. We did our job, which was to make a decision and hand it over to the people. That is the reason I have refrained from speaking on the issue in the Chamber since then. However, in football terms, when one sees a team playing the man and not the ball one knows that team is losing. I object very strongly to the attempted vilification of one medical expert, Dr. Peter Boylan.