SENATOR Dick Roche, of Fianna Fail, has again called for a new "pro-life" referendum on abortion, saying he believes it to be the only way to resolve the issue in the wake of the X case judgment.
Mr Roche made his comments at a meeting of the Pro-Life Campaign in his Wicklow constituency on Wednesday. He has denied he was going against the leadership's position, which is to await the deliberations of a party "expert group" before taking a public stance.
Mr Roche told The Irish Times yesterday he had not issued a press release on the subject, but had simply expressed his well-known view.
Fianna Fail was thrown into public disarray on the issue last March when the party's justice spokesman, Mr John O'Donoghue, said he personally favoured a referendum. In an attempt to prevent it from becoming an election issue, the parliamentary party then agreed to reconsider the issue after the election.
Mr Roche said yesterday the constitutional and legal problem created by the X case judgment would "have to be faced up to, sooner or later. There is a hiatus in Irish law and I don't believe legislation will rectify this hiatus". He said he hoped the expert group on the subject would report quickly.