W ednesday night’s Dáil vote in favour of a proposal to remove the mandatory three-day waiting period for abortion services highlighted stark divisions on the issue within Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael .
The proposed legislation, tabled by main Opposition party Sinn Féin , passed second stage in the Dáil by 86 votes to 70, in part with the help of a number of Government TDs – notably Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Tánaiste Simon Harris .
The respective leaders of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael both voted in favour of progressing the Bill to committee stage.
Most of their TDs and several Ministers did not.
Some 28 Fianna Fáil TDs rejected the legislation, while 12 supported it.
High-profile Fianna Fáil Ministers who opposed the removal of the three-day waiting period include potential future leadership contenders Jim O’Callaghan and Dara Calleary .
Other Ministers who voted in favour include Darragh O’Brien and Jack Chambers , also seen as possible future leaders of the party.
As for Fine Gael, 23 of its TDs members voted against – including Ministers Peter Burke and Martin Heydon – and 11 backed the proposal.
Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill voted in favour. So too did many of the younger TDs in the two parties – both men and women.
[ What would scrapping the three-day wait for abortion mean for pregnant women? Opens in new window ]
There are further stages to go, including amendments to be tabled and Senators having their say, before the proposal to remove the three-day wait might become law. That brings with it the potential for disagreement in the months ahead.
Were it almost any issue other than the sensitive matter of abortion policy, such division within the Coalition parties would set alarm bells ringing in Government Buildings.
However, both Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael TDs were allowed a free vote on what has been deemed an issue of conscience. And it is not at all surprising that there are different views within their ranks when the party whip is lifted.
Individual Coalition TDs often must bite their tongue and vote in favour of Government policies they may personally disagree with.
Will there be any long-term damage for either party? It is unlikely.
Famously, 31 Fianna Fáil politicians posed for a photograph to express their support for a ‘No’ vote before the 2018 Referendum to repeal the Eighth Amendment on abortion – at a time when Martin and a smaller number of his party colleagues had expressed support for the ‘Yes’ side.
[ When it comes to pregnant women in crisis, the aul’ fellas think they know better Opens in new window ]
In a party that is no stranger to internal rows – look no further than the aftermath of Fianna Fáil’s disastrous presidential election bid – abortion, for all the sensitivity of the subject, has not featured as a cause of any great unrest.
By allowing a free vote, the Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael leadership take the heat out of what has traditionally been one of the most contentious issues in Irish politics – within their own ranks at least.
There were even hints from Harris and O’Callaghan at a press conference on Thursday that there could be a case for loosening the whip system in other instances.
Harris said he felt there was “a strong case for more TDs to be allowed outside of the whip system to give their views on sensitive issues”.
O’Callaghan echoed this, saying other parties should look at the free vote allowed to Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael TDs. “I think there’s a lot of Sinn Féin TDs who’d have preferred to have a free vote last night and they weren’t given that opportunity,” he said.
As to what issues could warrant a free vote, do not expect Coalition TDs to get any latitude when it comes to Government legislation, Budget matters or confidence votes. But it has happened on other issues – for example, the 2024 Dáil vote to accept the final report of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Assisted Dying.
[ Abortion services Bill has strengthened case for conscience-based voting, Tánaiste says Opens in new window ]
Should any conclusions be drawn from Fianna Fáil leadership contenders O’Callaghan and Calleary voting against removing the three-day waiting period for abortion services? The pair had been on different sides during the 2018 Repeal referendum, and on Thursday both set out similar reasons for their vote this week.
O’Callaghan said his decision had been a “difficult” one, adding, “I campaigned for Repeal back in 2018,” and at the time, “We brought middle-ground Ireland with us.” He said the people were told in 2018 how the “statutory regime” for abortion services would operate. “I didn’t want to start unpicking that now,” he said.
In a statement to Midwest Radio, Calleary said people voted in the referendum on the basis of assurances like the three-day wait. “I don’t believe they should be removed,” he said.
Some in Fianna Fáil believe their stance on the three-day waiting period will do them no harm among the party’s conservative grassroots at whatever point…
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