SEANAD:THE "INCENDIARY little exchanges" in the chamber over yesterday's European Court of Human Rights ruling on a woman's right to abortion showed the potential for trouble that it could cause, Eoghan Harris (Ind) warned.
He appealed to all parties “to take it off the agenda for the general election”.
Mr Harris spoke after two senators clashed over the interpretation of the court’s finding. Terry Leyden (FF) had earlier suggested a constitutional amendment might be required and that a proposal could be put to the people in conjunction with the forthcoming election.
John Hanafin said his understanding of the judgment was that we were now being called on to legislate to provide for abortion.
Joe O’Toole intervened to say this was incorrect. The judgment asked that the Constitution be implemented.
Mr Hanafin said it appeared that legislation was being called for. He would back calls for a referendum, as people in a republic were meant to be sovereign.
David Norris (Ind) said people on both sides had profoundly held convictions.
He very much hoped that “unlike some of the previous situations where this matter was discussed, it will be done in a calm, rational way with respect for divergence of opinion, and that whatever solution is arrived at will be in the best interests of the people of Ireland”.
Mark Dearey (Green) observed that the court’s findings were binding. That might put an onus on the country to issue guidelines so that a woman whose life was threatened and who had a constitutional right to abortion, might have to be facilitated. Talk of a referendum might be premature, but there was no doubt that a very serious debate on this most serious of matters was to be faced.
John Paul Phelan (FG) said he agreed this was not an issue that should be used politically in the coming months. Perhaps it was something that could be cleared up legislatively.
Common sense should tell the Government to think twice before going ahead with the appointment of people to State boards, Mr Harris said.
Reacting to Fine Gael complaints about the impending stuffing of boards with appointees, Mr Harris said that if the Government embarked on such a course it would find itself paying a costly price at the polls.
It was quite appalling the main Government party had taken only two speaking slots in the second-stage debate on the Bill to enable the Minister for Finance to take sweeping powers to reorganise the banking sector, Mr O’Toole said.
“It reflects all of the contempt in which this House has been treated in certain places.”
Fiona O’Malley (Ind) said she hoped the President would seek the advice of the Council of State on whether the legislation was constitutional. Rigorous testing could result in its strengthening. She said while Labour’s Dáil spokesman spoke in the Dáil of the Bill containing draconian measures, Alex White (Lab) had spoken in the Seanad on the bank sector needing this level of intervention.
Feargal Quinn (Ind) asked whether the Minister could make clear his plans on the nationalisation of AIB. “Is this why John Bruton, now wearing his hat of the IFSC, is in the Middle East? Is he trying to flog the Irish banks to Arab sheiks or whoever over there might consider taking them? ”
The Bill was passed by 27 votes to 16.
Shane Ross (Ind), Mr O’Toole (Ind) and Ronan Mullen (Ind) voted with the Opposition.
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