Tánaiste plays down risk of Coalition rift on abortion

TÁNAISTE EAMON Gilmore has played down a potentially serious Coalition rift on abortion when an expert group on the issue reports in September.

The Labour leader acknowledged it was “a sensitive issue” but said “we have to wait until we see the report of that expert group before we can draw any conclusions”.

He refused to be drawn on whether the Government would legislate for abortion if it was recommended. “I don’t want to speculate about what it is going to recommend.”

His remarks contrasted sharply with those of his party colleague, Minister of State for Health Kathleen Lynch, who earlier yesterday said she did not think the Government had a choice. Ms Lynch said she expected the advisory group to recommend legislation.

On RTÉ’s This Week programme, she said: “I think it would be fairly certain that they would recommend legislation.” The Coalition did not agree on every single issue, she said, “and clearly there will be differences, but in terms of legislation in this particular instance we won’t have a choice.”

Ms Lynch added: “I think there’s no point in putting expert groups in place if you’re not then going to listen to their recommendations.”

The 14-member expert group, established in January and chaired by Mr Justice Seán Ryan, will make recommendations based on the 2010 European Court of Human Rights judgment that the State failed to implement existing rights to lawful abortion where a mother’s life is at risk.

The issue is already a contentious one within Fine Gael, with Minister for Health James Reilly facing strong opposition to any liberalisation of the law from 15 TDs and Senators. Dr Reilly has agreed to consult party colleagues before bringing the expert group’s recommendations to Cabinet.

Fine Gael TDs and Senators criticised Dr Reilly’s remarks to the Dáil that the Government had a responsibility to deal with the 1992 Supreme Court judgment on the X case. He said that “no action has been taken by six successive governments. I assure you this will not be the seventh.”

A spokesman for the Minister said last night that he was awaiting the expert group’s report and would be bringing its recommendations to the Government for consideration.

Ms Lynch said of the expert group: “I don’t know what that legislation will be, I don’t know what events it will cover, but I think it will recommend legislation.”

Asked about Ms Lynch’s comments, the Tánaiste, who was at the MacGill Summer School in Glenties, Co Donegal, said it would be better to wait until the expert group made its report.

Playing down the potential for a serious rift, Mr Gilmore said: “I think that we have shown over the life of this Government our ability to deal with issues as they arise, and to reach agreement on them.”

They had committed themselves in the programme for government to deal with the decision of the European Court of Human Rights.

“The way in which we have chosen to deal with that is by putting in place an expert group, which will inform the Government as to what is the best way of dealing with it,” he said.

Dr Ruth Cullen of the Pro Life Campaign said the expert group was “tasked with producing a wide range of options for consideration by the Government”.

Reacting to Ms Lynch’s comments, she said that if the group reported “with a narrow list of options, all leading to abortion, it will be not be based on medicine or law but politics”.

She said the European court judgment did not compel Ireland to introduce abortion.

“It sought clarity in the law in this area, which is an entirely different matter.”