Tag: Séamus Woulfe

The contortions of Tánaiste Simon Coveney over abortion has sent a clear signal to the public that he doesn’t trust elected politicians to deal with the issue in the future. Coveney’s colleagues in Fine Gael are divided over whether his botched attempt to limit the capacity of any future Dáil to change the proposed abortion legislation stemmed from naivety or cynicism. Coveney has certainly given a weapon to those campaigning against the repeal of the Eighth Amendment At the beginning of the week he surprised people by announcing he was prepared to support it, but followed that up less than 24 hours later by suggesting there should be a requirement for a two-thirds majority in the Dáil for any future changes in the law. The other explanation, favoured by some in his party, is that he is trying to have it both ways, retaining his key role in Government while sending a signal to the electorate that he has reservations about the way the abortion issue is being handled. “We are having a free vote, and it will be carried one way or another, but he was not prepared to accept the consequences of going against his Cabinet colleagues.” Whatever his motivation, Coveney has certainly given a weapon to those campaigning against the repeal of the Eighth Amendment. If he doesn’t trust his colleagues in the Dáil not to introduce an even more liberal abortion regime than they are currently committed to, why should the public trust them? When the issue was raised in the Dáil there was uproarious laughter when the Taoiseach tried to explain that the comments were made at a private function As one of the people present at the event I have no doubt that Woulfe was treated shabbily, to put it as its mildest. However, during the off-the-record question-and-answer session that followed he made brief comments about a current Supreme Court case. Those comments were not used by any of the journalists present, but were subsequently published. When the issue was raised in the Dáil there was uproarious laughter when the Taoiseach tried to explain that the comments were made at a private function, and that Chatham House rules applied.