Members of the Seanad have called for a debate in the aftermath of the abortion referendum. Speaking this morning during the Order of Business, the Opposition Leader, Senator Maurice Manning, said that there was a great deal to be reflected on, including the role of the Referendum Commission, and the possibility of weekend voting.
Earlier the Labour leader, Ruairí Quinn, was ruled out of order when he tried to raise the issue in the Dáil.
Following defeat of the referendum, by less than 1%, politicians are now faced with the task of framing legislation in line with the Supreme Court decision in the X case.
Ruairí Quinn said that legislation on the X case would form part of Labour's platform for any negotiations for a coalition government after the general election. Fine Gael's Alan Dukes said that his party was committed to bringing forward legislation, but he said that it should be looked at once the election is over.
The subject is likely to feature at this weekend's Fianna Fáil Ard Fheis. The Ard Fheis was designed to set out Fianna Fáil's launching pad for the general election campaign, in the wake of a successful abortion referendum.
Instead, the party will this evening have to try to put its defeat behind it, taking some comfort from the narrowness of the margin, 10,556 votes, or less than 1%.
The result leaves the Supreme Court's 1992 decision in the X case as the law of the land on abortion, and it will be up to the next Government to, finally, introduce legislation to cover situations where a pregnant woman's life is in danger as a result of a threat of suicide
Both Fine Gael and Labour are committed to doing so, although it is not yet clear if they will be able to reach agreement on the terms of such legislation.
The Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, has already indicated that he would be in no hurry to legislate if returned to power.
The referendum result will be analysed for any political implications for the coming general election. One of the most significant factors was the complete split between city and country which it demonstrated; every urban constituency voted against, every rural one voted in favour.
