The leader of the Fine Gael Party, Mr Michael Noonan today said he will be campaigning for a No vote in the upcoming Abortion Referendum.
Speaking on RTÉ radio this afternoon, Mr Noonan said he would meet with the Fine Gael Parliamentary Party this week and suggest opposing the Abortion Referendum.
This stance would be consistent with the position taken when the party voted against the Bill at every stage in the Dáil and Seanad, Mr Noonan said.
Mr Noonan voiced concern at the construction of the proposed new legislation. "I am seriously worried about such an extensive amendment being enshrined in the Constitution."
The breadth of interpretations meant the Irish people were deferring the true meaning of the bill to a future Supreme Court decision, Mr Noonan said.
He also disagreed with the need to remove the very narrow protection afforded to women following the X Case ruling.
Mr Noonan said concerns of a glut of cases following the X Case ruling had failed to materialise with only one subsequent case - the C Case - in the last nine years.
On a separate matter, regarding the return to court tomorrow by disgraced Dublin West TD Mr Liam Lawlor, Mr Noonan said the Oireachtas Ethics Committee has proposed to the Government a code of conduct with sanctions for breaching them.
These sanctions would include measures against members of the Oireachtas who fail to co-operate with the work of the tribunals.