Taoiseach Enda Kenny has said a report from an expert group into the European Court of Human Rights' judgment in the ABC abortion case will be published tomorrow after it is discussed by the Cabinet.
The Strasbourg court ruled two years ago that Ireland had breached the Convention on Human Rights by not providing accessible means for women to discover if they qualify for legal abortions under Irish law.
Speaking in Cardiff after a meeting of the British-Irish Council, Mr Kenny said the report of the expert group will be brought to the Cabinet tomorrow by Minister for Health James Reilly.
"He will recommend that it be published tomorrow and that will happen. We will then provide for an opportunity for everybody to have their say on this," Mr Kenny told The Irish Times.
The ECHR's ruling in the 'C' case requires clarity on 'the circumstances and conditions which might provide for a termination of pregnancy would be clarified and provided for in an Irish situation.
"That is what we are going to deal with and that is what we will do. I want this to be a sensitive, comprehensive, pragmatic and understanding discussion," he said.
"I know that there are very polarised views on this matter and have been in Ireland for the last 25 years. We had this in the 80s and before, but we do need to provide for legal certainty in the appropriate circumstances from a medic's perspective to deal with this," he went on.
Every TD will have the opportunity to debate the expert group's report in Dáil Éireann: "Many of those, I hope, will inform government as it sets out to deal with this and it will do that.
"Don't ask me for a specific date, but I don't envisage this drifting along interminably. I'd like to deal with it as soon as is practicable to do so. There are a range of views on either side, it is very necessary that the qualified personnel working in hospitals and those involved in constitutional law that their views be heard so that we get this right," he said.
Separately, the father of the late Savita Halappanavar, who died last month, has made a public appeal to the Irish Government to hold a public inquiry into her death.
Andappa Yalagi, speaking to a freelance video journalist at the family home on the Srinigar neighbourhood of Belgaum, Karnataka in south west India, he said he was not happy with progress so far in finding out why his daughter died in Galway University Hospital on October 28th.
“We would like to appeal to Irish Government to please consider funding public inquiry. We are not happy with the progress made so far. We all don’t understand the HSE investigation. So once again I ask the Irish Government to consider funding a public inquiry.”
Ms Halappanavar (31), a dentist, presented with back pain at the hospital on October 21st, was found to be miscarrying, and died of septicaemia a week later.
