Louise O'Reilly urges end to three-day wait in Dáil
Louise O'Reilly addressed the Dáil urging colleagues to remove the three-day waiting period inserted into post-repeal abortion legislation brought by Deputy Cullinane. She argued the delay is a political construct not recommended by the Citizens' Assembly or the Eighth Amendment Committee and called on Fine Gael members to vote to remove it.
Key points from the speech
Louise O'Reilly set out why the three-day wait should be scrapped: it was not recommended by the Citizens' Assembly nor by the Eighth Amendment Committee, of which she was a member. She described the measure as a political insertion rather than a result of expert or citizen-led deliberation.
Legislative history and responsibility
O'Reilly reminded the Dáil that the three-day wait was added after the repeal debates and explicitly cited Fine Gael as the party that inserted the provision. She urged colleagues to correct that choice by supporting the removal in upcoming votes.
remembering campaigners and consequences
The speaker recalled decades of campaigning for abortion access, naming activists and women affected by restrictive laws, and emphasised that repeal was one milestone in a longer struggle. She stressed that changing the law with broad consensus produces lasting progress.
A call to continue campaigning
Louise O'Reilly framed the debate as part of ongoing activism: wins are counted, losses accepted, and the work continues. She concluded by urging the Dáil to remove the three-day wait and to keep advancing women's healthcare and rights.
We publish thousands of recordings to make Irish politics transparent and resistant to manipulation. Spotted an error? Report it — together we are building a reliable archive of Irish politics.
Thanks Ciann Comhairle and I want to thank my colleague Dr Cullinane for bringing this legislation forward this evening. I look back on the speeches that were given on the day the post-repeal legislation was introduced here in the Dáil. The three-day wait was opposed by ourselves in Sinn Féin, it was opposed by Labour and PPP and I have to say we were right to oppose it and I'm glad to say that other parties that didn't take the opportunity that night have come to the same conclusion. The three-day wait is nothing more than a political construct. It wasn't recommended by the Citizens' Assembly and anyone who watched the proceedings as I did knows that they were very comprehensive in their deliberations. It wasn't recommended by the Eighth Amendment Committee of which I was a member and in all of our hours and hours and hours of discussion over many many months we never recommended a three-day wait. It was inserted by Fine Gael and I hope that I will see many Fine Gaelers in here tomorrow voting in the right way this time to get it gone. I would like, as I generally do when I discuss abortion healthcare, to recall those many people who campaigned for access over so many decades. People like my own parents who campaigned against the insertion of the Eighth Amendment, people like Alva Smith who as we know is a tireless campaigner for women's rights. I also want to recall women who were the victim of regressive laws and denied access to care. Women like Sheila Hodgers who was a very good friend of my mother's, Anne Lovett and Savita Halepanavar and there are many and I don't have time to list them this evening. My activism on abortion rights didn't start with repeal and I'm not naive enough to believe that it will end with one debate or one law because I know this is a fight that we must continue. I was a small child when I first marched with my mum for abortion access, then we were marching for information. I marched with my friends to get the state to legislate for X. I marched and I campaigned with my daughter and although he was tiny, with my grandson for repeal and at every stage we count our wins, we accept our losses and we keep going. This legislation is evidence of that. We will keep going. Let's get the three day wait gone. Let's mark our progress. Let's keep campaigning for women's rights because I am long enough around and long enough campaigning to know that one piece of legislation without consensus makes a point. Building consensus and getting the law changed makes a real difference.
Thank you for downloading 🙏
If you publish this material on social media, we would be very grateful if you tagged VideoParliament. It helps us reach more people and keep building a transparent archive of Irish politics.
