Senior politicians question legal advice on necessity of new Constitution clause following abortion vote

Senator Catherine Noone and TD Kate O’Connell, both of the governing Fine Gael party, have questioned whether a new clause is necessary should voters back repeal of the Eighth Amendment.

A new clause is currently under consideration by Cabinet following receipt of legal advice from Attorney General Séamus Woulfe.

Ms Noone, who chaired the Oireachtas committee on the Eighth Amendment, and Ms O’Connell, who was a member of the committee, have called on the Government to clarify Mr Woulfe’s reasoning.

The committee’s report backed “repeal simpliciter”, in which article 40.3.3 is removed from the Constitution without inserting any new text. It obtained legal advice on the issue from barrister Nuala Butler.

Ms Noone told The Sunday Times: “The advice we got was that ‘repeal simpliciter’ gives by far the most certainty and any other view is a minority one. I can’t understand why we would deviate from the majority opinion on this. I think there will be a duty to explain that.

“If there is a precedent for it, I’d like to get as much information about opinion, if indeed it is his opinion.”

Ms O’Connell added: “The overwhelming advice we got was that putting in a clause telling the Oireachtas to legislate would be an unusual way to go about things when the constitution already requires it to legislate.

“However, the Attorney General is in charge from a government perspective, and if that is his advice, I have to respect it. I would like to be assured as to the reason behind it. I personally would like to see his advice, but I’m not sure that would happen.”

Health Minister Simon Harris is expected to brief party leaders privately on the Attorney General’s reasoning.

David Kenny, assistant professor of law at Trinity College Dublin, has called for the Attorney General’s advice to be published.

He said a precedent was set when Taoiseach Garret FitzGerald’s government published the advice of Attorney General Peter Sutherland on the Eighth Amendment in February 1983.