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ALAN SHATTER HAS said that a referendum needs to be held on the issue of allowing terminations in cases of fatal foetal abnormalities, rape and incest.
The former justice minister made the comments at a Dublin Rathdown constituency meeting this evening, just four hours after voting against Clare Daly’s Bill on the issue.
Earlier, Daly labelled the Taoiseach “a hypocrite” over his stance on the legislation. Enda Kenny said the bill, which was rejected by 104 votes to 20, was unconstitutional.
Speaking tonight, Shatter recalled opposing the inclusion of the so-called “pro-life” amendment in the Constitution in 1983, saying:
“At that time, I predicted some of the possible consequences of its inclusion in our Constitution and, unfortunately, over the years, some of the predictions made by me have been proved right.”
Shatter reiterated comments he made during the debate on the Protection Of Life During Pregnancy Act 2013, saying it is “an enormous cruelty that a woman in this State is compelled to bring to full term a pregnancy where a fatal foetal abnormality has been identified and there is no prospect of a child surviving”.
He also said it is “entirely unacceptable that a woman who is a victim of rape or incest should be compelled to retain a pregnancy resulting from such circumstances”.
Shatter said most of the public agree constitutional change is needed in this regard, adding that he hopes Fine Gael will include a commitment to holding a referendum on the issue in its General Election Manifesto.
Shatter also wants the subject of divorce to be put to the people once again. The 1996 vote allowed for the inclusion in the Constitution of a provision that requires couples to live apart for a minimum of four years before a marriage can be legally dissolved.
He said this time frame “locks estranged spouses into a legal limbo”, “results in thousands being required to involve themselves in two separate sets of court proceedings, one initially for separation and another later for divorce”, and “costs the taxpayer annually millions of euros” through legal aid.
Shatter went on to describe constitutions as “documents of their time” that need to be updated as “society evolves”.
Shatter said that a ‘Yes’ vote in the upcoming Marriage Equality Referendum should not be taken for granted “despite what is represented currently in opinion polls as being overwhelming support for change”.
In 1986, there was similar overwhelming support for constitutional change to permit divorce at this distance from the date of the referendum but, by the time the votes were cast and counted, the support had evaporated.
He said that legal uncertainty surrounding same-sex partners and their children will remain an issue regardless of the outcome of the referendum in May.
“Unfortunately, these issues are not widely understood by the general public and, at the time when Cabinet decided to hold a Marriage Equality Referendum, I emphasised the importance of our enacting the Children and Family Relationships Bill addressing these important parental issues in advance of the Referendum being held.”
Shatter said he is concerned that if this new legislative framework is “not enacted and in place well in advance of the referendum to be held, it will facilitate those opposed to constitutional change generating controversy and muddying the waters and misleading people into voting ‘No’”.
The Fine Gael TD said he is “greatly concerned” that the Children and Family Relationships Bill has not yet been published for second stage debate in the Dáil as he published the draft legislation a year ago.
He added he was “further concerned” that the provisions contained in the Bill relating to surrogacy have been removed and that a separate Bill dealing with both assisted reproduction and surrogacy is to be published by the Department of Health.
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Can we have a list of names of the ones in Dublin?
They are all on the FSAI website.
Do they publish all the reports positive ones and bad ones ? Any link
How about a list please so we can avoid them
I’m going to Belfast for chips. According to the map they’re the bees knees.
Mentioning cork in the subheading and not Dublin is very misleading – the author easily dismisses Dublins number 1 spot due to population but not Cork.
Big city small problems
Aye. Dublin has bigger problems than just the most takeaways closing. Like open gang warfare, near daily shootings and a massive drugs problem.
There is 8 counties not mentioned in that list. Are we to assume everything was hunky dorey in those counties or is it the case the health inspectors in those counties are not doing their job properly.
There’s no food outlets in Leitrim. 4 pubs, a Spar, a petrol station and a church. That’s it.
So far in 2017 on the Fsai site tbese have been closed…. Express Pizza (take away), 6 Lord Edward Street, Limerick Punjab Pantry (take away), 39 Richmond Street South, Dublin 2 Synergy Subs Ltd t/a Subway (restaurant/café), Mellview House, M1 Retail Park, Drogheda, Louth Jalapeno Mexican Cuisine Ltd (restaurant/café), 46 Drumcondra Road Lower, Drumcondra, Dublin 9 Culleton’s Fish & Chips (restaurant/café), Main Street, Bansha, Tipperary Hot Spot (take away), Parnell Street, Limerick Polonez (retailer), 20 Moore Street, Dublin 1 Pacinos Restaurant, 18 Suffolk Street, Dublin 2 Beachview Tandoori (take away), Strand Road, Laytown, Meath Kavanaghs Fine Foods Cork Ltd (service sector) A Chef Kebab Foodstall, At Daltons Pub car park, Fuerty, Roscommon Day to Day (retailer), 54 Georges Street Upper, Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin Palak Restaurant, High Street, Tuam, Galway Ali Baba (restaurant/café), Bank Place, Rathkeale, Limerick T/A I&A Organic Gardening and Catering (food processor), 21 Shandon Way, Shandon, Cork Auckley Ltd., The Palace (public house), 17 Ludlow Street, Navan, Meath Largo Foods (manufacturer), Kilbrew, Ashboune, Meath
And not one in Sligo!
Ah ya but we have the Wild Atlantic Way… all ye have is Hurling ha ha!
@Larry Doyle: The inspectors name was Kenneth and they completed their mission. Bad egg I’d say!!
Environmental Health Officers do a great job and follow things through.
I wish they could enforce a public notice on the front of the premises like in the U.K. A post on here mentioned some law in California which was even better but I can’t recall it.
Not surprised about The Punjab Pantry.. I was driving down Richmond Street yesterday and i kid you not it is like something out of Damascus. The dirt and smell OMG is like something i have never seen. FILTH. I can only imagine the restaurants/takeaways. Rolled the windows down and quickly rolled them back up. The hum in the air i can still smell it.
If the names of the places are already in the public domain, Why not publish them. This article is as good as useless if it doesn’t. I’m no wiser than I was before when it comes to deciding where not to eat. Sorry to be a moan.
No naming and shaming?
Having lived in Roscommon I can believe it.
I’d love to see a closure per capita rate – if anyone has the time
Name and shame please
Best chipper in the country was poison paddy’s in Blackrock village cork , when horse meet was meet and we still gave a few Bob for the black baby’s
Why not name and shame the offenders? Telling us in which counties they’re located is a pointless and tells us NOTHING.
Cleanest chipper I have come across recently is Whartons Fish and Chips in Bantry town in County Cork.
Is that yourself?
name and shame!
What about Moore Street, Dublin?
Were in cork are they
Why not name and shame the offenders? We need to know WHO they are, not just where they are so we can avoid eating at these places. The information is useless otherwise ….
What was the kip in Wicklow called ? Or Andreas
have your say