The secretary of the Catholic Bishops' Commission on Bioethics has called for the Tánaiste Ms Harney's vote on EU funding of embryonic stem-cell research to be "subject to the approval of the Cabinet".
In an article in The Irish Times today, Father Kevin Doran has said Ms Harney "is only one member of a government which operates by the principle of collective responsibility". Each member of the Cabinet "shares with her both the moral and the political responsibility for whatever position will be taken by the Irish delegation at the Council of Ministers," he said.
Last Thursday, Ms Harney repeated the Government's decision to support the European Commission's position on the use of surplus embryos for stem-cell research.
She said the Government would reserve its decision on whether to vote in favour of EU funding proposals for such research at the November 27th meeting of the Council of Ministers, which she will attend.
She also said she wanted to hear the specifics of the European Commission's compromise proposals and the views of the European Parliament.
In today's article, Father Doran has also said that "the Government now seems to take the view that, as long as destructive embryonic research is not happening here, then Ireland won't stand in the way of it happening elsewhere in Europe.
"This attitude is totally at odds with the spirit of the Constitution, which specifically recognises the right to life of the unborn." He says this will allow the Irish pharmaceutical industry "to benefit from the destruction of embryos", provided it takes place elsewhere.
