“The legislation will be enacted before the end of this year.”
Despite the fact that the official results haven’t been confirmed yet, it’s looking increasingly likely that the Yes vote will be the winning side with regards to the referendum on the Eight Amendment.
In an interview with RTE, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has hailed Ireland’s “quiet revolution” as the early results are pointing towards to a resounding vote for changing Ireland’s constitutional framework on abortion.
“The people have spoken. They have said we need a modern constitution for a modern country,” he said.
The Taoiseach added that Irish people “are a nation that’s not divided. We are a nation that’s united. We want to make this change and it gives the government the mandate that we needed now to bring forward the legislation that we promised. We’ll have it through the Dáil and Seanad and enacted before the end of this year.”
"What we have seen today is a culmination of a quiet revolution that's been taking place in Ireland " – Taoiseach Leo Varadkar pic.twitter.com/sPxnsVWEA7
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) May 26, 2018
Elsewhere, the Minister for Health, Simon Harris, had this to say: “Under the 8th the only thing we could say to women was take a boat or a flight, now we are saying take our hand”
“Today, a lot of people will breathe a sigh of relief. A sigh of relief that the Ireland we always thought we had, has now been recognised.”
He adds: “I certainly think anyone in the Oireachtas has their right to make their views known, but those in the Oireachtas also have bosses and those bosses are the people of Ireland…and they’ve spoken clearly today. On Tuesday, I hope to go to government and ask for permission to draft the legislation. I hope that the drafting will take place over the summer months.”
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