I thank my colleague Deputy Cairns for her leadership on this issue and for bringing forward the Bill. There are three things I would like to discuss which I think will come up during the course of our debate in the House this morning. The first is what the referendum was or was not about. For those of us on the progressive left who campaigned on this issue day after day, month after month and year after year, we are really clear about the what the referendum was and was not about. It was about listening to women, providing care and compassion, ensuring that no woman would have to travel abroad for healthcare and taking this issue out of the Constitution and into the hands of legislators to legislate in respect of it. It was also about reproductive rights and freedom, and that is what our Bill is about. For far too long, we looked away as women travelled abroad. That has to stop. We have to ensure that nobody is forced to go abroad. The referendum was also about smashing the shame, stigma and silence. We have to ensure that continues and that we have legislation which is robust and which works. The second thing is that people will say there are difficulties with the Bill. That always happens with Opposition legislation. People they say that things need to change. To that, I say that the Minister should come back with amendments. That is why we have a ten-step legislative process. This is Second Stage. On Committee Stage, Report Stage and in the Seanad, the Bill can be amended and improved. Matters can be teased through on Committee Stage by the select committee. We can debate matters and fix things if they need to be fixed, and we can have a Bill that works for everybody. I am sure the over 600 officials who work in the Department of Health will work with the Minister on drafting amendments. Every time Bills - even Government Bills - are introduced, they are vastly amended on Committee Stage and on Report Stage. That can happen with this Bill too if, as has been reported, the Minister has difficulties with it. The final thing I will is about the process of progress. When we had the Repeal referendum, it was not frozen in time. There was always going to be a review. The review of the legislation was built into the legislation. We now have the review. We need to act on it. In the same way as marriage equality, that was not the end of the campaign for LGBT rights. The repeal referendum was not the end of the campaign for reproductive rights. We will continue to campaign on this issue. If we do not with the vote tonight we will be back because the women of Ireland deserve better.

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