TDs fail to address real issue: Women travelling to Britain

The wrong number dominated the Dáil yesterday: Four — the amount of Fine Gael X case rebels, when it should have been 100,000 — the amount of Irish women forced to seek a termination abroad since that judgment was made.

The highly restrictive nature of the X case legislation means nearly all of those women would still have had to make that loneliest of journeys, even if it had been enacted in 1992, but their individual stories deserved far more attention than fevered speculation among deputies over which TD would lose the whip first, and who would follow next week.

That it had taken 21 years — nearly an entire political generation — for the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling to even reach the floor of the Dáil, tells you all you need to know about the timidity of the chamber.

As the division bell tolled, TDs hovered in clusters that ebbed and flowed through the tightly-packed space, but the atmosphere was distinctly subdued rather than one anticipating a moment of parliamentary history.

Junior Minister Lucinda Creighton talked in a huddle with Peter Mathews and Terrence Flanagan — the latter two standing with over a dozen others to insist on a vote, while the junior minister kept her seat.

The doors were then locked as the Dáil finally faced-up to that two- decade-old ruling and voted on the second stage of the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill.

TDs discover the outcome votes via a giant electronic map of the chamber that sits as a big screen above the press gallery balcony and slowly lights up in green for “Yes” and red for “No” as the deputies press the control panels on their desks — so nearly all heads swirled upwards at once to pinpoint those who went against.

The one-sided slide against the legislation on the Fianna Fáil benches proved the biggest surprise as the party split 13-6 against the position taken by Micheál Martin.

Ms Creighton went out of her way after the result was announced to shake the hand of Mr Mathews. His loss from party ranks will not cause much concern.

Ms Creighton presents a more intriguing dilemma as, judging what she and others have said in debate, a few more will vote against the Bill when it returns from committee stage as Taoiseach Enda Kenny insists amendments they have demanded would go against the X case ruling.

One TD, who had eagerly looked up at the Dáil voting map, remarked afterwards that at the same time the journalists had been looking down on the chamber like buzzards eyeing political road kill.

After the next vote we will know the final tally of the Fine Gael fall-out.

But the reality remains that when the Bill passes into law rape victims must still leave the country to seek a termination, along with those dealing with fatal foetal conditions, and thousands of other women in the midst of a crisis pregnancy.

Maybe then the Dáil can stop the hypocrisy that abortion does not impact on Irish society and start talking about the numbers that really matter — the number of women still being forced abroad.