IN THE first breaking of party ranks on the abortion issue during the election campaign, Fianna Fail's outgoing Cork North Central TD, Mr Dan Wallace, has called for "legislative action" to outlaw abortion.
A firm deadline should be set - within a month of the Dail's resumption in the autumn - to debate the issue and introduce legislation "to confirm the State's unambiguous commitment to the total protection of unborn infants", he said.
Mr Wallace's intervention came in a written statement, which was not cleared in advance with the Fianna Fail leadership, and was issued after the Tanaiste, Mr Spring, had described as "unwise" the Catholic Hierarchy's call for an abortion referendum.
Mr Wallace said: "I am personally absolutely determined to do everything in my power to hasten this process and I will support every effective step taken to guarantee the full rights of the unborn child in this country. Nothing less is either adequate or acceptable."
The Standing Committee of the Catholic Bishops' Conference on Tuesday reaffirmed that the Irish people should be offered the opportunity to "restore by referendum the constitutional guarantee of the right to life of the unborn child."
The Catholic Archbishop of Dublin, Dr Desmond Connell, appeared to return to the theme yesterday when he criticised what he described as the State's safeguarding and promotion of "what is regarded as the supreme value of individual choice". The State had, he said, withdrawn "into a form of moral neutrality."
Anxious to avoid making abortion an issue in this election, all the party leaders in the Dail have set out their strategy for dealing with the matter, without any challenge from Deputies.
A spokesman for Mr Wallace said last night that the TD had become involved only because of earlier remarks by the Tanaiste. He rejected what he termed Mr Spring's "amazing attack on Church leaders."
In his statement Mr Wallace said: "Indeed I would go as far as to say that the vital need to ensure that abortion remains illegal in Ireland is by far the most important issue facing Oireachtas members.
The spokesman for Mr Wallace said he would never want "in any circumstances, to embarrass the leadership."
There was no direct response from Fianna Fail to Mr Wallace but a spokesman for the party said: "The party leader has set out, in clear terms, the Fianna Fail position on this matter. He has done this on a number of occasions and his position has not changed."
Meanwhile, the Fianna Fail leader, Mr Bertie Ahern, said his party, if elected, would produce a Green Paper on the matter, take on board the report of an expert group and "feed it into" the Constitutional Review Group. There was no simple answer, he said.
Mr Spring denied he had criticised the bishops and said he had merely pointed out that it was "unwise to suggest a referendum at this time.
A referendum was not a way of solving the problem but he "respected" the bishops' right to freedom of speech.
The Democratic Left leader, Mr De Rossa, said the campaign was about the election of a government. "The electorate know the position of the various parties and the Roman Catholic Church should accept that the electorate are adults and can make up their own minds. The church should stay out of the political debate," he added.
The PD leader. Ms Mary Harney, said the Government should "stop trying to stifle debate". The public was entitled to hear all views and the church was entitled to say what it thinks about the issues before the people.
The Pro Life Campaign said the Labour Party's policy on abortion "would have the effect of providing for abortion in Irish hospitals". The PLC stood over this assertion, in spite of the Labour Party view that it was "scurrilous and beneath contempt."
The PLC challenged Mr Spring to debate his party's policy on abortion. The Christian Solidarity Party asked if freedom of speech was permissible only if it conformed to Mr Spring's agenda.