Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has defended the party's decision not to remove the whip from Meath East TD Peadar Tóibín, who is campaigning to retain the Eighth Amendment.
Last month, Offaly TD Carol Nolan lost the party whip because she voted against Sinn Féin policy in the Dail to hold a referendum on the amendment.
The party is campaigning to repeal the amendment and Ms McDonald said a line had been drawn on members voting against Sinn Féin policy in the Oireachtas.
Ms McDonald said it would be preferable if all the party agreed on the issue, but she said it was a democracy.
She added that Mr Tóibín was speaking in a personal capacity at an event today to retain the amendment.
Sinn Féin TD Peadar Tobín: The solution for 1 person can never be the ending of the life of another. He calls for a no vote in #8thRef pic.twitter.com/B9ok8YEt0h
— Ailbhe Conneely (@AilbheConneely) April 24, 2018
Meanwhile, Mr Tóibín has said that he was confident of his future in the party despite advocating a different position to the party position on the forthcoming referendum.
Speaking to RTÉ’s News At One, Mr Tóibín said he believed Sinn Féin was the only vehicle that exists to achieve his dual objectives of a united Ireland and a prosperous and equal economy, adding that he is fully invested in that project.
"Some people have said: 'Would you not just protect your political career on this issue'," said Mr Tóibín.
"My issue is very simple. For me, this is a vulnerable individual; living human being. I have the choice to walk past and do nothing, or to get involved and safe that child's life, and that's what I am doing."
He said he believes the Dáil is fractured on the issue.
Ms Nolan has said she is confident there will be place for all members of Sinn Féin to vote with their conscience in the future.
Speaking at the launch of the Cherish All the Children Equally campaign, which is seeking to retain the eighth amendment in the Constitution, she described as "unfortunate", that she was bound by conscience and the party was bound by policy.
Asked if she believed there was still a place for her in the party, the Offaly TD said she hoped so, adding that as an Irish republican woman, she had a role to play.
"I hope that we'll come together and resolve any indifferences that exist in term of opinion, and it's only in terms of opinion," she said, "we've very decent hard working people in the party."
Asked if there were double standards considering her suspension from the party, while Mr Tóibín remains in the party, Ms Nolan said she had not compared her situation with anyone else’s.
She said she was dealing with it in an "honourable manner" and is continuing to work hard in her constituency as a TD for the people who elected her.
Additional reporting: Ailbhe Coneely
