Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions
Dail Éireann — 2026-06-17
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Micheál Martin (FF), Cork South-Central

First of all, I recognise that this is a very sensitive issue and I appreciate the Deputy raising it in the manner she has. She campaigned consistently over a long period for the abolition of the eighth amendment. On reflection, in my view, this area should never have been in the Constitution in the first instance. It came out of a particular era in the 1980s.
Be that as it may, the people spoke in the referendum. In the context of that referendum, there was a general debate on what would follow. If we look at what has happened, there is now safe and equitable access to termination of pregnancy services. The Deputy did not really acknowledge that in her presentation. Significant steps have been taken in this regard, including the expansion of hospital services, a sustained increase in community providers - there are about 492 now - the introduction of safe access zones and the continuation of the revised model of care for termination in early pregnancy. These measures have substantially reduced barriers and increased access to services for those who need it.
There is a broad spectrum of sincerely held views on this issue. We should respect that, and the Government respects that insofar as we have a conscience vote on these issues, and we have had. The constituent members - Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Independents - allow for a conscience vote on this. That is what will happen in respect of the vote this evening on the three-day wait period, and we should respect everybody's perspectives and views on this question.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-06-17/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-21T01:01:09+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-06-17