Fintan Warfield (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The weekend was momentous. I thank the women who told their personal stories. Many of us understand the harm and hurt that comes with that. Others will say it is cathartic, and perhaps that is the case, but only when the result was positive. For Parliaments elsewhere in the world, such as Australia or the North, where these decisions can be made, politicians owe us political will. I thank the Irish people, who made such a strong and decisive decision after what Ailbhe Smyth described as one of the most lengthy national conversations about any law. I also thank the activists who made it all happen. I was glad that Fintan O'Toole mentioned our young people and recognised their efforts. How often do young people have to smash the redundant stereotypes? How long before this Parliament recognises that and allows their political participation from a younger age?

On Sunday morning, I visited the National Print Museum and an exhibition entitled, Print, Protest and the Polls: The Irish Women's Suffrage Campaign and the Power of Print Media. There should have been crowds at the event and it should be a permanent exhibition. One quote, from Margaret Connery, who wrote an article entitled, The New Force in Irish Politics, in The Irish Citizenin August 1918, stood out:

If the new woman voter in Ireland has the courage and independence to set a new standard I believe the men of the new generation would try hard to live up to it... Irish women have a long-inherited passion for national liberty. They will ring true on that issue. May they be equally true and uncompromising on the deep human issues.

I join Senators Gavan and Bacik in calling for legislation as soon as possible to ensure referrals can be made to Britain and to remove criminal sanctions from the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act 2013. I have also written to the Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, asking that he ensures gender neutral language is included in the legislation in recognition of the fact that trans people face crisis pregnancies.

We finally live in a time when the position of everybody is respected. Our job, as we make advances, is to reach out our hand to our brothers and sisters in the North and elsewhere