The Government has rejected opposition claims that its proposed referendum on abortion is in contravention of the Constitution. The claim was made by the Fine Gael and Labour leaders, Michael Noonan and Ruairí Quinn, who accused the Taoiseach of embarking on another legal quagmire.
Mr Quinn told the Dáil that article 46.4 of the Constitution laid down that a Bill to amend the Constitution could not contain any other proposal. Yet, he said, the Government's amendment proposed changes to the criminal law as well as constitutional change.
However, the Government tonight said that the opposition's position was based on a radical misunderstanding of its position. A spokesman said that there was only one proposal in the Bill to amend the Constitution; the text of the legislation for the Protection of Human Life in Pregnancy would not be part of the Constitution.
That Bill would only became law after it was enacted by the Dáil and Seanad if the abortion referendum is carried.
