Tánaiste Joan Burton has been accused of disappointing Labour party members who had opposed the 1983 abortion referendum. Independent TD Catherine Murphy praised the role the Labour party played in 1983 when it opposed the referendum, going against the popular view.

The Kildare North TD said “it was brave. It was against public opinion. It took courage.” However, she told Ms Burton: “You are letting down the people who went out in 1983. It seems that the position you took then is not one you are prepared to take now, when public opinion is on your side and you are in a position to do something about it.”

Ms Murphy had called for the Government to take action to deal with abortion in the wake of the Ms Y case. In addition there had been the X case and the Savita Halappanavar case. “We are running out of letters in the alphabet for these cases.”

She asked when the Government would take action and if the Tánaiste had seen the draft guidelines which Ms Murphy said “appear to be even more restrictive than the limited legislation”.

Ms Burton said Ms Y’s confidentiality and vulnerability should be respected along with those of the baby. She added that she expected that doctors involved in the care of women during pregnancy, at birth and after pregnancy would discuss and consider those guidelines.

She pointed to Labour’s position in 1983 and said that the party had opposed the amendment and she herself had campaigned against it. She said the people voted for the amendment “in their wisdom” but she agreed that public opinion had changed.

Ms Murphy said it must be “hugely disappointing for Labour party people” that the Tánaiste was not prepared to take the same position she had in 1983, when she now had public opinion on her side.

The Tánaiste said the circumstances of the case came to the expert panel in line with the operation of the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act at a very late stage of pregnancy. Ms Burton said she did not support a position that an abortion should be given at 24 weeks.

In a separate development in the Dáil, the Socialist Party has introduced a private member’s Bill to allow a referendum to repeal the 8th amendment to the Constitution which prohibits abortion.

As another "March for Choice" protest takes place tomorrow, Socialist Party TD Ruth Coppinger has called for a referendum to be held on the same day next year as the plebiscite on marriage equality. Ms Coppinger described the 1983 abortion amendment as sectarian.