The words of Eamon Gilmore when he was in Democratic Left.
Showing posts with label Eamon Gilmore. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Eamon Gilmore. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Sunday, July 28, 2013
Friday, July 26, 2013
LABOUR has lost a third elected representative in the space of a week with the resignation of a Dublin councillor from the party.
Councillor Cian O'Callaghan said that he was quitting the party because it had broken election promises and made choices that have benefited the rich and powerful at a huge cost to everyone else.
"I disagree profoundly with the Labour Party approach in government in a long list of areas," he said.
Mr O'Callaghan has worked as a parliamentary assistant to former Labour Dublin West TD Patrick Nulty, who also resigned as a member of the party earlier this year. He was a member of the Labour Party since 1999 and a was elected for the first time as a councillor for the Howth Malahide Ward of Fingal County Council in 2009. He is the third elected member to quit Labour this week.
Labour Meath councillor Jenny McHugh quit the party this week to join Fianna Fáil, while Leinster MEP Nessa Childers also announced she was resigning her membership and would be running as an Independent in next year's European elections.
Sunday, April 7, 2013
Last April thousands of people stood outside the Labour Party conference in Galway in protest. 1st April is over, Seán.
http://www.rte.ie/news/2013/0406/380046-labour/
Minister of State for Research and Innovation Seán Sherlock has said that there is no crisis in the Labour Party in Government.
Speaking on RTÉ's Saturday with Claire Byrne programme, the Labour TD for Cork East said he fully acknowledged that Labour had not yet been able to deliver on child benefit and student registration fees.
He said Labour was only two years into a five-year mandate and the party felt it was probably shouldering 100% of the blame.
Mr Sherlock said the public discourse is that the decisions that have been made are largely at the door of Labour.
He said there were some people suggesting that the leadership was trying to stifle a conference.
He said it was decided by the party's executive last October not to hold a conference until autumn because of the Irish presidency of the European Union.
Mr Sherlock said Labour was going through a very difficult phase.
He said it was not the first time it has been at this juncture when it decided to go into Government in very tough economic times.
He acknowledged that there are members who have left the parliamentary party but said there was a unitary level of purpose among those who meet weekly in the party.
Earlier, more than 60 Labour Party members met in Dublin to campaign for the party's policies to be implemented in Government.
The group called for an immediate special party conference to seek an urgent review of the Programme for Government.
MEP Nessa Childers urged Labour Party members to take action to save the party and the people it represents.
Ms Childers, who yesterday resigned from Labour's parliamentary party, got a standing ovation at the meeting this morning.
She said taking a stand is not easy, but said she was sick and tired of worrying about offending the leadership.
The party is running out of time and urgent action is required, even if that means getting into conflict with Labour TDs, she said.
Saturday, April 6, 2013
Last April (2012) saw thousands of Irish people protest outside the Labour party conference in Galway. Today, Nessa Childers and other Labour party members met in Dublin. Rejected in Meath East and came in fifth behind the newly formed Direct Democracy Ireland. Whilst Gilmore, Rabbitte and Quinn’s pensions are safe, the Labour party are worried about being wiped out at the local and general election.
Thursday, March 28, 2013
With less than a third of the people voting in the Meath East by-election, the major news is the implosion of the Labour party. Eoin Holmes managed to get 1,112 first preferences and came fifth. The new political service, Direct Democracy Ireland came fourth with Ben Gilroy getting 6.5 per cent of the vote. This was his first outing in an election, so a good result.
Whilst not reaching the quota Helen McEntee of Fine Gael was elected.
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Sunday, January 6, 2013
http://www.independent.ie/national-news/civil-war-in-labour-threatens-coalition-3343443.html
By Maeve Sheehan
Sunday January 06 2013
ALL-OUT war has broken out between Labour chairman Colm Keaveney and the party leadership under Eamon Gilmore. The row, which has been simmering since Mr Keaveney lost the party whip by voting against the Social Welfare Bill provisions of the Budget, has escalated this weekend.
This latest development threatens to destabilise the leadership of Eamon Gilmore – and therefore the Coalition – because of a groundswell of support for Mr Keaveney.
Last night, as he fought to keep his position, Mr Keaveney spoke for the first time about the level of acrimony between himself and the Labour hierarchy, which he claims is now feeding into attempts to oust him from the party chairmanship.
In an interview with the Sunday Independent, Mr Keaveney tells an extraordinary story of alleged "dirty tricks" that surrounded his successful bid for the chairmanship of the party almost two years ago.
He also reveals how a key figure in the party threatened to sue him for defamation in an exchange of legal correspondence after he had complained about alleged interference in his constituency.
Now Mr Keaveney fears that an attempt will be made to remove him from the position, which was conferred on him by the general membership, as opposed to the parliamentary party.
He also said that his relationship with the party leadership had soured long before he voted against the Government following last month's Budget.
Last night the Labour Party strenuously denied that there had been any "dirty tricks" to oppose the election of Mr Keaveney in 2011.
A spokesman said: "The Labour Party did not take a position on who should or should not be elected to the party chairmanship. Anyone suggesting otherwise is wrong."
Mr Keaveney's complaint was being dealt with by internal party structures, said the spokesman, adding: "It is unfortunate that the party chairman feels aggrieved."
The Labour leadership is understood to be seeking legal advice on how to remove Mr Keaveney. They take the view that his continuing as party chairman is now untenable.
Mr Keaveney said he now believes a complaint will be made against him, triggering his suspension from the party.
He said: "The irony is that I am going to be punished and court-martialled over a promise that the Labour Party made before the election.
"I look forward to immersing myself in clarifying what happened around these events. The Labour grassroots wear as a badge of honour honesty in politics.
"This nasty, below-the- belt approach would appall the grassroots members."
Mr Keaveney said the "shenanigans, the dynamics, the tricks, had no influence" on how he voted on the Budget, adding: "If it was a personality issue, I would have left the Labour Party a long time ago. It was a decision based on principle, not on personality."
The Labour spokesman said: "It is unfortunate the party chairman feels aggrieved but as far as the Labour Party is concerned, our primary focus is on building on the progress we have made in Government in bringing stability to our public finances, in tackling the jobs crisis and in safeguarding the state supports that are in place for people who need them most."
- Maeve Sheehan
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Unlike Fine Gael, the Labour party never claim to be Christian Democratic and have always favoured the ‘British model’ regarding abortion. This is abortion on demand and right up to birth. It is expected many in the Labour party will retire at the next general election.
See article below.
“Wednesday December 19 2012
A TRIUMPHANT Labour Party is declaring victory on abortion policy following a historic Coalition decision to bring in new laws – which has angered some in Fine Gael, writes Fionnan Sheahan.
Labour proclaimed repeatedly it had delivered on its promise to legislate for the X Case, which a senior Fine Gael figure privately said was "sickening".
Labour issued no less than seven separate statements from party figures hailing the Government's decision.
However, the celebratory tone did not go down well with many members of their coalition partners Fine Gael, which is facing internal turmoil over how the legislation is worded.
Health Minister James Reilly said he was conscious of the sensitivities of the contentious issue, but said that ensuring the safety of pregnant women was a priority.
"We will clarify in legislation and regulation what is available by way of treatment to a woman when a pregnancy gives rise to a threat to a woman's life," Dr Reilly said.
"We will also clarify what is legal for the professionals who must provide that care while at all times taking full account of the equal right to life of the unborn child."
Nowhere in its statement did the Government refer directly to suicide. However, the Supreme Court ruling on the X Case cited the threat of suicide as a legitimate risk to life, giving grounds for abortion.
Irish Independent”
Sunday, December 16, 2012
With political retirements expected at the next general election an interesting piece here from John Drennan in the Sunday Independent. See below.
http://www.independent.ie/national-news/kenny-told-stitchup-on-x-case-will-cause-revolt-3327194.html
Kenny told 'stitch-up' on X Case will cause revolt
By JOHN DRENNAN
Sunday December 16 2012
Senior FG figures warn Taoiseach not to rush decision on legislation
Taoiseach Enda Kenny has been warned that if the Government attempts to rush through any "stitch-up'' when it presents its proposed response to legislating for the X Case next week, he will face a major Fine Gael revolt.
The Government is expected to present its response on Tuesday, but Mr Kenny was warned that he will "be seen to be in absolute breach of his word if anything resembling a final solution is presented next week".
And the claim by Eamon Gilmore that he and Mr Kenny would resolve the abortion issue by Christmas has sparked a furious response from senior Fine Gael figures who warned that "the Government must absolutely facilitate an open-ended debate that is respectful of all views'' before it finalises its response to the Ryan report.
They added: "A very significant number of people will not accept a stitch-up. . . as part of some divvy-up to facilitate the wishes of the Labour Party.''
The mood amongst the wing of Fine Gael that is suspicious of any attempt to legislate for suicide will have been hardened by a letter sent to all of the party's representatives by 11 top-level consultant psychiatrists.
The letter was signed by Jacqueline Montwill, consultant psychiatrist for Mayo Mental Health Services; Eugene Breen, CP Mater University Hospital; Alan Byrne, CP Naas; Patricia Casey, professor of psychiatry Mater/UCD; Ciaran Clarke, CP Barringtons Limerick; Brid Corkery, CP St Stephen's Hospital Cork; Brian Houlihan, consultant child psychiatrist at Children's University Hospital Temple St; Richelle Kirrane, CP John Connolly Hospital; Martin Mahon, CP John Connolly Hospital; Bernie McCabe, CP Navan Mental Health Services, and Geraldine Lyster, CP St Brigid's Hospital Louth
Significantly, the letter claims that "termination of pregnancy is not a psychiatric treatment for suicidality, nor is it mentioned as such in any of the major textbooks of psychiatry''.
The letter also expresses the belief that "offering an abortion to a distressed person who is psychiatrically ill would be strongly ill-advised since the person's capacity to make important life decisions is frequently impaired".
Political sources have said that tensions have arisen between Mr Kenny and Justice Minister Alan Shatter over Mr Shatter's response to the Expert Group Report on Abortion which appeared, to many observers, to implicitly endorse the development of a far more liberal abortion regime than the simple outworking of the X Case Supreme Court Judgement.
However, opinion within Fine Gael is so divided over the issue of legislation. Lucinda Creighton has made it clear she will resign if any legislation is too liberal.
Ms Creighton was not available for comment. However, Fine Gael sources also noted that "Shatter is driving every-one mad. He is complaining the X Case is not enough."
Within Fine Gael it is believed that at least 30 TDs and senators remain to be convinced by the virtues of the legislative route. These include Ms Creighton; Derek Keating; Michelle Mulherin; Regina Doherty; John O'Mahony; John Paul Phelan; Brian Walsh; Peter Mathews; party chairperson Charles Flanagan; Terence Flanagan; Billy Timmins; Sean Conlon; Michael Creed; John Deasy; James Bannon; Paul Connaughton, Tony McLoughlin; Jim Daly; Marcella Corcoran Kennedy; Patrick O'Donovan; and a number of senators such as Paul Bradford.
One source noted: "It is not that we are medieval about what women can or cannot do with their bodies. Our concern is about issues such as how do we define suicide and is it the case that we run the risk of following the path of other jurisdictions where this legislation could be used to introduce a UK-style abortion regime though the back door.''
Another source asked: "How do we define regulations for suicides? Dan Neville, who is the expert on this issue, admitted it is actually impossible to form a conclusion on suicidal ideation.''
TDs were also anxious to clarify that "this is not about being controlled by Opus Dei or priests and nuns waving rosary beads. People have genuine issues of conscience."
- JOHN DRENNAN
Monday, December 10, 2012
Sunday, December 9, 2012
With Sinn Fein seeking to gain at the expense of Labour, this article is an interesting read. Whilst Sinn Fein are seeking to be populist on the issues, it should be remembered, they are willing and ready for abortion on demand in Ireland.
"Labour will not agree to child benefit cut" says Gilmore
By JOHN DRENNAN and DANIEL McCONNELL
Sunday December 09 2012
IN a weekend of discontent, furious Labour TDs have declared the controversial cut to child benefit in the Budget a "red-line" issue and have rounded on their leader Eamon Gilmore.
Launching a scathing attack on Mr Gilmore and other ministers, the Labour senator John Whelan said: "This is a Cabinet of grey-haired old men who are detached from the lives of working families."
In a reference to the expected retirement of most of the Cabinet at the next election, Mr Whelan asked: "Who among them will have to face mothers at the next election to explain their actions?"
At the last general election, Labour vowed to protect child benefit, but the monthly rate was cut in the Budget by €10 per child to €130 for the first three children. The cut come into effect in January. A further cut of €10 is to be implemented for a fourth and subsequent children from January 2014.
The entire measure will cost many hard-pressed families up to €1,500 a year before other cuts and taxes are taken into account, such as changes to PRSI and the property tax.
Of the 45 members of Labour's parliamentary party, 12 TDs and senators have expressed varying degrees of concern, both publicly and privately, at the direction their party is taking in Government.
It has also also emerged that Labour's chairman, Colm Keaveney, has written to TDs and senators – in defiance of the party leadership – to ask for complaints, which he has said he will urgently take to Mr Gilmore. While Mr Gilmore and other Labour ministers are anxious to maintain control over internal dissent, Mr Keaveney wrote: "The last week has been a difficult one for us as a party.
"The Budget presented many challenges for us as we are in Government with a party that operates according to a very different set of values and objectives from our own.
"Email me with your thoughts and reflection on the Budget," he urged, "so that I may express them back to the party organisation and leadership and, in particular, at our next meeting of the executive board."
As Sinn Fein this weekend mounted protests outside the constituency offices of Labour TDs and senators nationwide, the feedback to Mr Gilmore and his colleagues was unequivocal.
Mr Whelan said: "I am the eldest of a family of seven. I grew up in a council estate in Monasterevin (Co Kildare). Like many families, I know first hand the importance of children's allowance to help make ends meet.
"This child benefit cut is hard to stomach as it impacts so hard on lower-income families who need it most.
"And now, thanks to this unfair cut, I have Brian Stanley and Sinn Fein protesting outside my office in Portlaoise today, making more noise, when I am trying to make a difference, change things and have these cutbacks on children reversed."
Another senior and widely respected Labour TD said: "Child benefit has to be protected. The moment I heard the Budget, I knew this was going to be the red-line issue.
"We have created a poverty trap for working Irish families who need child benefit, not as a luxury, but to live, to provide school lunches for the kids."
In a reference to current unease within Labour, Mr Whelan added: "Roisin Shorthall, who still carries real moral authority in the party, asked if the Budget had been poverty-proofed – and answer there was none."
Another rural TD told the Sunday Independent: "We're trying to explain why parents can't buy school dinners for their children and Gilmore is out in Foreign Affairs talking about saving the world.
"He is not where we want or need him to be. We are losing our entire moral and political platform."
Despite the outrage, however, the expectation as of now is that the Social Welfare Bill, which implements the cuts in child benefit, will be passed without change in January.
However, there is an expectation that several Labour TDs will either vote against the measure or abstain, thus losing the party whip and joining several former colleagues in opposition, including Ms Shortall.
A campaign to change some of what are regarded as the more severe Budget cuts is likely to be sustained and increased over Christmas and into the new year.
A senior Labour TD said last night: "We are going to be annihilated if we continue on like this. We have already abandoned several of the key promises we made during the election."
Also yesterday, several TDs expressed anger at the leadership's failure to secure a three per cent increase in the Universal Social Charge for people earning over €100,000.
There was also huge concern at the implication of PRSI changes, which will result in more reductions in the take-home pay of all workers, and hit low- and middle-income earners in particular.
However, other Labour Oireachtas members are still trying to focus attention on the opposition.
Donegal senator Jimmy Harte said it was "very difficult to justify these tough decisions" but that no credible alternatives had been put forward by either Sinn Fein or Fianna Fail.
He added: "I am very unhappy with a lot of what was in the Budget, the respite care cuts and child benefit. I would have liked to have seen a solidarity tax included."
Many Labour TDs and senators were scathing in private but unwilling to state publicly their true feelings.
Others spoke openly of how the cuts are difficult to stomach but stopped short of directly criticising Mr Gilmore and Labour ministers.
Meath East TD Dominic Hannigan said: "Nobody likes having to make these cuts. The best we can do is to ensure they are as fair as possible."
In a further sign of concern within the party, the Labour equivalent of the Fine Gael 'five-a-side' group of disenchanted – but so far loyal – first-time TDs has emerged.
Described as "hardcore Labour" and said to be concerned with maintaining the party's identity, some of the names believed to be involved include Ann Phelan (Carlow Kilkenny) and Dublin TDs Robert Dowds, Eamon Maloney and Michael Conaghan. Derek Nolan (Galway West) is said to be "loosely affiliated" to the group.
Mr Dowds said he held a meeting on Friday in his constituency to discuss the impact of the Budget.
"People realised it was a difficult Budget and that we have very little option at this stage – but it is difficult."
He felt that ministers Joan Burton and Ruairi Quinn had done a "brilliant job" in ensuring the cuts were limited.
At least seven other TDs, including Mr Keaveney, have also expressed a degree of concern about the party's direction. They include Michael McNamara (Clare); Brendan Ryan (Dublin North); Michael McCarthy (Cork South West); Joanna Tuffy (Dublin Mid West); Ciara Conway (Waterford); and Mr Hannigan.
Senators John Kelly, John Gilroy, Denis Landy and James Heffernan are also openly disaffected with the "current direction of the party".
While the anger is palpable within Labour, some in the party described Mr Keaveney's actions as an open refutation of the party leadership, with whom he has endured a rocky relationship.
- JOHN DRENNAN and DANIEL McCONNELL
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Monday, December 3, 2012
With Budget 2013 to be delivered there is nothing different in ideology between Labour and Fine Gael. They are incompetent. The people of Ireland deserve much better.
03/12/2012 - 13:03:51
Education Minister Ruairi Quinn said today that he would "neither confirm nor deny" reports that he suggested James Reilly was not fit to be Health Minister.
It follows newspaper reports yesterday suggesting that Ruairi Quinn confided to a meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party that Minister Reilly was "not up to the job".
However Minister Quinn said the Labour parliamentary party holds its meetings in private, and that he would not breach confidentiality.
"Whatever about leaks, I regard them [the meetings] as confidential," he said.
"We cannot do our business unless they remain confidential, and I'm not going to confirm or deny or in anyway change my comment that I made repeatedly about Dr Jim Reilly.
"He has both my confidence and my sympathy. He has an extremely difficult job to do."
Sunday, December 2, 2012
The party is over.
THE Government is at war three days before the most feared Budget in the history of the State, the Sunday Independent can reveal.
Today, it can also be revealed that Education Minister Ruairi Quinn told a behind-closed-doors meeting on Wednesday that members of the Cabinet shared the view of Labour TDs that Health Minister James Reilly, was "not up to the job and should go".
An atmosphere of volatility has reached boiling point at Government Buildings, where Fine Gael and Labour ministers gathered this weekend in a bid to reach agreement.
The tension is undoubtedly exacerbated by a dramatic 6 point drop in Fine Gael popularity in a national opinion poll conducted last week.
"It's getting very late – and nothing has been decided yet," one panicked cabinet member said yesterday. Last night's cabinet meeting, called to finalise the Budget, began at 5.30pm and finished at 9.30pm, breaking up with many important issues unresolved. The meeting had been due to last for two hours.
At one point, Labour ministers left the meeting to confer among themselves while their Fine Gael counterparts stayed in the cabinet room. The flare-up in hostilities is the result of underlying ideological differences between the coalition partners.
The two ministers in the crosshairs are Dr Reilly and Social Protection Minister Joan Burton.
Labour wants to increase the Universal Social Charge by 3 per cent for those earning €100,000 or more a year. But Fine Gael says that would amount to a tax increase and Enda Kenny has vowed there will be no tax rises.
Fine Gael countered that if the Labour demand is to be accepted, then social welfare rates must also be cut. But Eamon Gilmore has vowed that there will be no social welfare cuts.
As a stand-off between the parties continues this weekend, insiders say that Mr Gilmore and Mr Kenny went into a side-conference where it was agreed that the USC hike would be changed to a "mansion tax".
Last night, the Sunday Independent confirmed that a higher rate of the property tax is to be applied to houses worth, it is believed, more than €1m. Government sources last night referred to it as a "property-related wealth tax." The deal struck has defused the row over social welfare cuts and USC hikes – which are now "no longer on the table".
There is, however, no doubt as to how the public feels in advance of a €3.5bn package of cuts and taxes on Wednesday – the fifth such austerity Budget in a row.
A Sunday Independent/ Millward Browne opinion poll shows that a clear majority of people genuinely fear that they will be unable to meet their financial commitments after the Budget.
Asked if they thought the Budget could push them over the edge, 56 per cent said 'yes', 29 per cent said 'no' and 14 per cent did not know.
Further breakdown shows that of the consumer-driven 35-44 age group, a massive 64 per cent fear the Budget will shove them off the precipice.
Negotiations between the coalition partners are still expected to reach a compromise agreement – but there is no doubt that huge tensions exist between the parties and that these will leave a mark.
Those tensions have been a running sore ever since the then minister of state Roisin Shortall resigned in September following a decision by Dr Reilly to locate sites for primary health care centres in his constituency.
The ill-feeling will be compounded by the Sunday Independent revelation today on Labour ministers' view of their cabinet colleague, Dr Reilly.
Mr Quinn yesterday failed to respond to seven queries from this newspaper about his comments to the behind-closed-doors meeting on Wednesday, in which he said that members of the Cabinet shared the view of Labour TDs that Dr Reilly, was "not up to the job and should go".
At the same meeting, Joan Burton decried the manner in which the Government set about its preparation of the Budget. She said: "Ministers are making decisions in a vacuum. Only two politicians and the civil servants know what has been proposed by each minister."
She added: "This is the most difficult Budget to date – it has been a very difficult process for me."
Later in the week, Ms Burton's annoyance turned to fury at the Fine Gael proposal to cut social welfare rates, which, it is understood, emerged overnight from the Taoiseach's office.
She had believed that she had finalised her package of cuts – only to discover "at the last minute" of the Fine Gael plan to put social welfare cuts on the table.
Meanwhile, Fine Gael is intent on protecting Dr Reilly from a Labour onslaught.
But in what many will interpret as tacit Labour support of an €8m cut to home-help services, Mr Quinn told the Labour parliamentary party meeting on Wednesday: "We cannot be seen to be looking for a head to roll."
There was strong criticism by TDs of what was described as Dr Reilly's "privatisation agenda" and cuts to home help.
Dublin TD Aodhan O Riordain described Dr Reilly as the "elephant in the room" and said he was "not up to the job". He added: "We are going to have to do something about him and soon. The guy can't do his job, (he) makes a mess of everything."
However, Mr Quinn urged those present to be "very careful now", adding: "We cannot be seen to be looking for a head to roll."
Addressing Mr O Riordain, he said: "But your sentiments are shared by cabinet colleagues. We need to close ranks. This cannot be leaked out of this room. We are on the long march. Remember, we are only 21 months in office."
Earlier in the meeting, Mr Gilmore said Fine Gael did not have the same "unanimity" as Labour on the abortion issue, adding: "We can't play this as a win for us at their expense."
However, Dublin TD Kevin Humphries, who agreed that Labour needed to be "helpful" to Fine Gael on abortion, added: "'Helpful' is a two-way street." In the context of Budget negotiations, Mr Humphries said: "Fine Gael need to be helpful to us and they haven't been to date."
Mr O Riordain said that if Labour "pushes too hard to get more legislation" on abortion Fine Gael "might look for a deal from us in another area. Let's manage the Budget first."
The revelations offer an extraordinary insight into the manner in which the Government works – specifically, the barely disguised contempt which exist in Labour towards the Health Minister, but also how Labour is prepared to compromise on this in order to stay in office.
The latest Red C Poll for the Sunday Business Post shows that support for Mr Kenny's party has fallen below 30 per cent since it assumed office in March 2011.
Fine Gael's party support now stands at 28 (down six) while its coalition partners Labour gains one and now stands at 14. Fianna Fail is up one to 20, while Sinn Fein remain unchanged on 17. Independents have gained four and are now on 21.
- JOHN DRENNAN and DANIEL McCONNELL
Monday, November 26, 2012
With many Labour politicians expected to retire at the next election, will their parting shot be, abortion. In the sham that was the Children’s Rights referendum, Labour urged a ‘Yes’ vote. Now, they are seeking to allow for the killing of the unborn child during a ‘limited abortion’.A vote for Labour will be a vote for abortion should this political party contest future elections.
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2012/1126/breaking5.html
Labour to seek limited abortion
MARY MINIHAN
Labour will this week press for an early Cabinet commitment to legislate for limited abortion amid party concerns about Minister for Health James Reilly’s ability to implement a new legal framework.
The expert group on abortion’s report will be brought to Cabinet tomorrow. It says legislation consistent with the Supreme Court ruling on the X case is required and this should be followed by ministerial regulations.
Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Brendan Howlin yesterday said the Government would act “speedily” and insisted the Coalition would not be the seventh administration to fail to act on the 1992 judgment.
An early statement of intent by Cabinet this week would provide cover for Labour backbenchers who will come under pressure to vote for former Socialist TD Clare Daly’s revamped abortion Bill on Wednesday night.
A group of Fine Gael TDs opposed to what they regard as “liberalisation” of abortion laws is expected to lobby Dr Reilly with their concerns about cases involving threatened suicide. Cork deputy Jim Daly said he “would be concerned that that might lead to abortion on demand”.
There is widespread disgruntlement among Fine Gael TDs that the expert group’s report was leaked to media outlets before they saw it. Party chairman Charlie Flanagan said: “I find it very regrettable that the report has been leaked ... and the public representatives haven’t seen it yet.”
In addition, Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin and Sinn Féin deputy leader Mary Lou McDonald called for Dr Reilly’s resignation over the weekend after The Irish Times disclosed that two locations in Dr Reilly’s North Dublin constituency were added to a list of places chosen for primary care centres the evening before the Government announcement.
There is also some doubt within Labour on Dr Reilly’s ability to steer legislation for limited abortion through the Oireachtas. However, Mr Howlin said he “absolutely” supported his Cabinet colleague, whom he said had one of the most difficult jobs in public life.
Dáil debate
Mr Howlin said on RTÉ’s This Week he hoped a “calm, considered, comprehensive” debate would begin in the Dáil this week, “and very speedily thereafter the Government will come to its own decisions in terms of drafting legislation and presenting that to the Oireachtas”.
The expert group’s report says women who have been refused abortions should have access to an appeals process to seek a review. Particular centres where terminations can take place should be specified.
The group of medical and legal experts favour setting out the provision of abortion in primary legislation, with related operational matters delegated to the Minister to govern through regulations.
Abortions could take place only when a risk to the life of the mother could be averted by terminating a pregnancy.
The report was commissioned before the death of Savita Halappanavar in University Hospital Galway in October. Ms Halappanavar’s husband, Praveen, has said doctors refused a termination when she was miscarrying because a foetal heartbeat was still present.
Labour Senator Ivana Bacik said: “It will be difficult to oppose Clare Daly’s Bill without some statement of intent to legislate.”
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