Independent TD Clare Daly has claimed some of the younger Fianna Fáil TDs in Leinster House agree with her position on abortion that the eighth constitutional amendment should be removed.
In an interview today on The Irish Times podcast, Inside Politics, Ms Daly, who is pro-choice, said the political establishment was lagging behind public opinion on the issue.
“I’ve had conversations with, I’m not singling them out, but Fianna Fáil TDs, a lot of the Fianna Fáil TDs are relatively young. They would say privately that, yes, they absolutely agree,” she said.
“But they kind of say, ‘What are you nuts? I’m getting loads of texts here giving out to me about this’. So they choose to plough the middle-ground, not affect anybody, waffle on about it, pay lip service to both sides of the camp, but nothing changes.”
The 1983 amendment enshrined the equal right to life of the mother and the unborn in the Constitution. Ms Daly described as “quite significant” the fact that some Fine Gael backbenchers had called for a repeal recently.
Meanwhile, Ms Daly argued that people had been “badly let down” by the trade union movement.
She said the unions should be playing a broader role in society. Joining a union meant “a bit of a struggle” nowadays, particularly in the private sector, she added.
“People say, listen, I’m impoverished enough. I’m trying to make ends meet. Why am I handing money over to people who are not going to fight for me?”
Ms Daly was cleared of cleared of suspected drink-driving in February 2013. Speaking about her arrest and being handcuffed, she said: “The whole incident was quite peculiar. It ended up in the public domain in less than 24 hours. It was quite stressful.”
She said she believed the information had been out into the public domain “from pretty high up inside the Guards” in an attempt to discredit her.
“I suppose the proof is if they’re prepared to do that to a TD well what chance has an ordinary citizen who maybe wouldn’t have the chance that we have to defend themselves.”
Ms Daly was arrested again, along with fellow Independent Mick Wallace, after attempting to search two planes at Shannon Airport.
The pair breached a security fence and were subsequently handed over to local gardaí. Ms Daly today revealed she had a scar on her lip as a result of tumbling over the fence.
“I have a mark on my lip still as a result of that. I’m going to be scarred for life. I didn’t really manoeuvre the railing as skilfully as Mick Wallace did. I kind of tumbled over the top of it and ended up smashing my lip.”
Ms Daly and Mr Wallace have been attempting to highlight their belief that US military planes reportedly carry troops and armaments through Shannon in the Dáil for a number of years.
