THE Taoiseach has rejected a call by the Catholic Archbishop of Dublin for a referendum on abortion.
Mr Bruton said he was "not favourable to the idea of setting out on a commitment in the middle of an election campaign to a referendum when we do not know what the words to be proposed are".
Writing in this week's Irish Catholic, Dr Desmond Connell said recent opinion polls showed that a clear majority of Irish people not only considered that a referendum should be held, but were also opposed to the legalisation of abortion in all circumstances.
"It is disconcerting that these views have not been reflected in the attitudes of the political parties."
Speaking to journalists in Brussels last night, Mr Bruton said: "It could be said that one of the reasons we have had so much difficulty with this subject was because of commitments given during an election about a referendum in 1982. It is on the basis of that wording that the problems we are now experiencing on abortion arose."
A Fianna Fail spokesman referred to remarks made by the party leader, Mr Bertie Ahern, last Friday when he said that it was not "tenable" for people to ignore the judgment in the X case which makes abortion lawful in limited circumstances. Mr Ahern had pledged that in government he would prepare a Green Paper to try to get a greater consensus than had existed over the years.
The Tanaiste, Mr Spring, had made it clear he was opposed to another referendum, said a Labour spokesman.
A PD spokeswoman said the party was awaiting the outcome of the deliberations of the all party committee on the Constitution.
A Democratic Left spokesman said a referendum was not the appropriate mechanism to deal with a complex social and health issue like abortion.