The department of Health has confirmed that the Minister, Mr Cowen, ordered the rewriting of a draft of the Government Green Paper on abortion some months ago without informing the Cabinet sub-committee supervising the preparation of the document.
Sources in the Department insisted yesterday that this was done to eliminate "civil service jargon" rather than to alter the substance of the document. Mr Cowen, according to the sources, is a "straight talker", and was unhappy with unclear phraseology and presentation.
Mr Cowen sent the draft - which his Department yesterday called a "working document" - for redrafting after it was produced by an interdepartmental working group. The work of that group is being supervised by a Cabinet sub-committee chaired by Mr Cowen, but the sub-committee did not see the draft.
A PD spokesman confirmed yesterday that its representative on the sub-committee, Minister of State Ms Liz O'Donnell, had not been aware that a draft had been produced or that it had been sent back for rewriting by Mr Cowen. She was surprised at the news and would seek a quick explanation today, the spokesman said.
Despite renewed political focus on abortion since the election to the European Parliament of Ms Dana Rosemary Scallon, a Government proposal on how to deal with the issue is not expected for some time. A Government spokesman said yesterday that the Taoiseach had made a commitment to hold a referendum on any proposed change, but only if there was all-party agreement on a proposal. A referendum could be held on a proposal to amend the Constitution to outlaw abortion even under the limited circumstances allowed in the X case, or on a Bill to legislate for abortion in situations similar to those in the X case.
The Government is displaying no urgency about the issue despite Mr Ahern's commitment while in opposition to put the matter to the people in some way when in government. The interdepartmental working group was set up in December 1997 to draft a green paper - effectively a Government discussion document.
The Cabinet sub-committee overseeing the group consists of Mr Cowen, Ms O'Donnell, the Attorney General, Mr David Byrne, the Minister for Public Enterprise, Ms O'Rourke, and the Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue.
There are a number of time-consuming hurdles to be overcome before any Government proposal sees the light of day. The sub-committee will consider the final draft from the working group, and if it approves it, will send it to the Cabinet for consideration.
The Green Paper is expected to outline all the options available to the Government. These include a referendum to amend the Constitution, legislation, or to take no action.
Cabinet approval of the Green Paper is not expected until September, following which the document will be published and referred to the All-Party Committee on the Constitution for consideration.
This committee will examine the document and send in back to the Government with recommendations. The Government will then produce a White Paper - a document stating its intentions. This, in turn, will be the subject of debate before Government action is taken.