We have knowingly elected parties opposed to X case legislation

It has been said many times that the Oireachtas and governments have shirked an obligation placed on them by the Supreme Court in 1992 to legislate for the X case.

No such requirement has ever been placed on them, nor could it be.

Under our Constitution, the courts cannot direct the Oireachtas to enact legislation, a point which the Supreme Court made clear in Holland v Ireland in 1998. Furthermore, in the X case judgement, while the Supreme Court bemoaned the fact that the Oireachtas had not legislated in this area, the court never suggested that it could or should ‘require’ the Oireachtas to legislate.