Alan Shatter: Let people vote on issue of abortion

Alan Shatter, the former justice minister, has waded into the latest row on abortion and declared that politicians can no longer hide behind emotive debate and must instead give people a referendum.

Mr Shatter also called for a vote on overhauling the rules for divorce and warned that the Coalition’s upcoming same-sex marriage referendum could be lost.

His comments came as Tánaiste Joan Burton was last night scrambling to deal with her first rebellion as Labour leader, after disagreement broke out over a Dáil motion on fatal foetal abnormalities.