The Workers’ Party have accused the government of hiding behind the Citizen’s Assembly in relation to this week’s AAA/PBP Dáil motion calling for referendum to repeal the 8th amendment.
Workers’ Party Councillor Éilis Ryan said that it was clear that the Citizen’s Assembly was merely a mechanism to allow the government to kick fraught issues such as abortion rights into the long grass. It was already clear, she said that the Assembly, will produce a fudge which will avoid the possibility of a referendum at all costs.
“The Taoiseach and his ministers want the issue debated by the Citizen’s Assembly because they do not want to deal with what is a political hot potato for a government and Fine Gael party which is still dominated by backwoodsmen and conservatives. If, as expected, they vote down this bill, the issue will still have to be debated sooner or later and be put to the people.”.
“Three million voters clearly trump an unelected assembly of 99 members selected by a private polling company. Let us have this debate in public without hysteria or outside interference. How many more women are to die while this issue is put on the long finger? One is too many. Let the AAA /PBP motion pass and bring this issue before the Irish people, the only arbiters who matter at the end of the day” said Cllr. Ryan