Abortion legislation: Vote urged on entire findings by Citizens’ Assembly
Minister of state for skills and training and Independent Alliance TD John Halligan made the comment, adding there must now be a referendum on the Eighth Amendment.
Speaking to reporters at the launch of a €6.7 million joint research investment by Science Foundation Ireland and the UK research council, Mr Halligan said it would be wrong for politicians to prevent the proposed legal changes.
While emphasising that he has “the utmost respect for arguments on both sides”, he said voting on the recommendations that have been made is “the only way you are going to settle this”.
The assembly has recommended allowing for abortion in Ireland for a range of circumstances and has given the Oireachtas a mandate to now debate this and the possibility of a referendum on the issues.
Mr Halligan said: “I happen to be pro-choice but I know there are other people who are pro-life, and I think the only way you are going to settle this is not that it would be settled by politicians but settled by the people of Ireland. Let them have a referendum or a vote, and that’s it, whatever way it falls it falls and we have to accept it.”
Asked if he agrees with a 2018 referendum date, Mr Halligan said: “The sooner it’s held the better.”
He acknowledged that legislative procedures will have to take place on the back of the Citizens’ Assembly’s recommendations, but insists that politicians must not block its findings: “I don’t think that [blocking or watering down the findings] can happen, because the Citizens’ Assembly was set up essentially to make recommendations and they would be the judges of what would come before the people of Ireland.
"Providing that it doesn’t interfere with the constitution or there’s not a legal impediment, I don’t think they should be interfered with.”
Minister for Children Katherine Zappone yesterday also echoed other comments from ministers and said she believes a referendum should go ahead next year: “I think first of all it’s now over to the politicians to respond to what the Citizens’ Assembly, the advice they have provided to us, and we need to do it as quickly as possible.
"So the ad hoc special committee needs to be established, to get moving, for the recommendations of the Citizens’ Assembly, and I see no reason why we can’t have a referendum as early as the spring of next year.
“It will be difficult, but one of the reasons I recommended we did have a Citizens’ Assembly initially is that some of the issues would not only be aired but that our citizens would be able to engage with the experts and on the basis of that make decisions and recommendations to the politicians.”
Fine Gael parliamentary party chairman Martin Heydon said he did not know which way he would vote in any referendum.
Mr Heydon said a lot of people wanted to know how “liberal” a regime for terminations might be before deciding how they would vote in a referendum.
