PRESSURE on political parties to back a referendum on abortion is set to intensify following yesterday's Irish Times/MRBI poll. The Pro Life Campaign says the parties cannot ignore the poll which shows 65 per cent of voters want the abortion issue resolved by another referendum.
The campaign, chaired by former senator Mr Des Hanafin, is to launch a pre election position paper at a meeting in the Gresham Hotel, Dublin, on Monday night.
Dr Mary Lucey, of the Society for the Protection of the Unborn Child Ireland, said she was very pleased with the poll results. The great majority of county councils were also in favour of a referendum.
Youth Defence said it was time for the political parties "to answer the challenge inherent in this poll result".
Political parties, with the exception of Democratic Left, were less forthcoming about the poll result.
Fianna Fail refused to comment. "We never comment on polls," a spokesman said. "We never have and never will."
The Progressive Democrats would only say "the all party - Oireachtas group on constitutional reform has received submissions on the matter and is evaluating them with expert legal advice. We must await the outcome of their deliberations".
A Government spokesman, asked if he wished to comment, said: "I don't think so, no."
A Democratic Left spokesman criticised The Irish Times poll as simplistic. "The question put, for instance, did not establish how many people want neither a referendum nor legislation, and are happy with the situation as it is.
"Neither do we know how many of those who answered yes envisaged another referendum to remove the 1983 amendment, or how many thought a referendum should be used to strengthen it.
"I suspect that if you asked people if they favoured another referendum to overturn the decision of the Supreme Court in the X Case - which is what most of those advocating another referendum want - you would get quite a different response.
"As far as Democratic left is concerned, we believe that the experience since 1983 has confirmed that the Constitution is not an appropriate place to deal with a complex social and medical issue like abortion."
The Pro Life Campaign said that "the electorate recognises what so many politicians have missed: that abortion is too important an issue to be resolved in any way other than by referendum".
Mr Peter Scully, of Family & Life, said the political parties should give a commitment to hold a referendum.