Minister plays down significance of poll on abortion

Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Simon Coveney has played down the significance of The Irish Times/Ipsos MRBI poll which showed a significant majority of people in favour of changing the constitution to allow for abortion.

Mr Coveney said the government could not decide on policy on the basis of opinion polls and he was happy to await whatever recommendations emerge from the citizens’ assembly which is due to meet later this month to consider the future of the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution.

According to The Irish Times/Ipsos MRBI poll, 55 per cent of voters favour the repeal of the Eighth Amendment allow abortion in the case of rape or fatal foetal abnormality and a further 19 per cent favour allowing abortion in all cases as requested as happens in the UK. 18 per cent oppose any repeal.

But Mr Coveney said: “I haven’t seen what the question is - sometimes it depends on how you ask the question in terms of the answer you get. Regardless of opinion polls we have a process underway - there is a citizens’ assembly under way - I think that is the right way to go forward.”

Mr Coveney said that he believed the majority of Dáil Eireann deputies supported an approach involving a citizens’ assembly as the best way to proceed as sometimes opinion polls focus on the emotion of the issue rather that the detail of the issue which is what is required by legislators.

“People have very strong views on abortion and people will note the contents of opinion polls but that’s not going to change anything - what will change policy is the commendations coming from a citizens’ assembly that has 100 people thrashing through the details of these issues,” he said.

“The important thing is that we get a quality report and set of recommendations from them rather than trying to rush matters - these are complex, emotive, difficult life and death issues and I don’t think we should be making decisions on the back of one or two or even ten opinion polls.

“We should make decisions on the back of a broad spectrum of views that have access to expert opinion to reach a balanced decision that can help people in crisis pregnancies but can also reflect the view that many people have that the unborn child also has a right to protection of the state.”

Mr Coveney acknowledge the complexity of the issue and while there were “no easy answers”, he was confident the citizens’ assembly would come back with an answer long before the Government would exit office which may be further away than many pundits have predicted.