Catherine Noone (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I sat here for the entire day yesterday and I did not make one comment. It was very difficult to do that when I heard a lot of the comments that were made. I will be very brief. The committee, which I chaired, specifically excluded disability as a grounds on which abortion should be allowed. That is not for debate. That is a fact and was in our recommendations. The committee's report underpinned this legislation. While there were certain changes, which the Government was quite entitled to make on the advice of the Attorney General and for other reasons, that fact remains. There is one fundamental point that certain Senators are missing. The Minister is being accused of not fulfilling his promise to the Irish people. I firmly believe the Irish people were clearly aware of the terms on which they were voting. I agree with Senator Norris on this point. The Bill was discussed in detail by those on both sides of the argument, especially on this particular point.

With such spinning and twisting of facts to suit a certain argument, it is like "Groundhog Day" in here.