I welcome the publication of the heads of the protection of life during pregnancy Bill yesterday. Cuirim fáilte roimh an chéim thábhachtach seo. Women have been waiting for this legislation for 21 years and the Government is to be commended for bringing forward its proposals. Sinn Féin, for its part, will consider this Bill carefully and we hope the debate will be conducted calmly based on the wording as published.

In our view, the legislation must provide clarity for medical practitioners and legal protection for pregnant women when their lives are in danger. Could the Taoiseach clarify the Bill is about setting out in legislation that which is already provided for in the Constitution and for those who have argued about this being the thin end of the wedge and that it will open the floodgates, these are alarmist suggestions? It must be clear that this represents nothing of the sort.

Does the Taoiseach agree citizens can be assured this legislation is about protecting mothers when their lives are at risk and the doctors who care for them, and that we will judge this against the obligations on the State and the principles for implementation as set out in the report of the expert group on the A, B and C v. Ireland case? Will the Taoiseach reassure the Dáil this Bill deals with these obligations?

I thank Deputy Adams for his comments. As a matter of courtesy, the Minister for Health and the Ministers of State at the Department of Health will be available for briefings for the Opposition spokespersons on health if they wish. I agree the debate on this sensitive issue has been conducted to date in a measured, constructive and sensitive fashion and I hope that will continue for the discussions that lie ahead.

As I said this morning at the press conference, the law on abortion is not being changed. No new rights are being conferred on anyone. This involves a focus on the fundamental issues of legal clarity for medical personnel who work in the medical area and certainty for women who are pregnant, both for themselves and their unborn children. There are two lives involved in each of these cases. The legislation that will emerge from the discussions surrounding the heads of the Bill will be strictly within the Constitution and strictly within the existing law and the Government is now required to act within those parameters. What is involved here is giving clarity and certainty to rights that exist within the existing law and not straying outside that. The legislation in respect of the protection of life during pregnancy will respect those two parameters completely and will also respect the right to life of the unborn, which will be upheld, and the obligation on the medical profession to save both lives where that is possible will be confirmed.

This is an issue that was very divisive in Irish society for over 30 years. I ask people to reflect on this, to bring necessary certainty and clarity to women in particular in respect of their pregnancies, their own lives and the lives of their unborn children and legal clarity to medical personnel who work in this area and who have to work within that law. The laws on abortion here are not being changed. The legislation will be strictly within the Constitution, strictly within that law and will adhere to those basic principles. I hope the discussion can be tempered and considerate in understanding what it is necessary to do within those constitutional and legal parameters.

I thank the Taoiseach for his answer. Given what he outlined, would he agree that arguments about opening of the floodgates and the thin end of the wedge, and the suggestion that some women might feign suicidal tendencies to exploit this proposed legislation, are downright disrespectful to women and, if I understand what he said, impossible in light of the proposed legislation? For any of us who read or listened to the evidence in the inquest into the tragic death of Ms Savita Halappanavar, if ever any evidence was required about the need for clarity for medical practitioners or protection for pregnant women, it clearly was set out in what was reported from that inquest.

Could the Taoiseach clarify the timetable for bringing this through the Dáil? I understand it may go to committee tomorrow. Does he intend to have this through the various Stages before the summer break?

I thank Deputy Adams. There is no question or intent in any circumstance for an opening, as they say, for abortion on demand in this country. The Government is required to act in accordance with the Constitution. We are required to act within the parameters as set out and the legal implications of the X case. In the three areas, where there is either a medical emergency or an issue in a pregnancy where there is a real and substantial risk to the life of the mother as opposed to her health, the procedure in so far as personnel is set out there, as it is also in regard to the area of self-destruction where there must be clearly a unanimous decision and, because there are two lives involved, an obstetrician-gynaecologist is one of the persons involved.

As Deputy Adams stated, many of the comments made have been disrespectful to women. After all, we trust the women of this country. It is a compassionate country. This is an area that requires thorough, comprehensive understanding and sensitive debate and I hope that will happen during the course of this.

The Deputy asked when it will come before the House. The committee of which Deputy Buttimer is Chairman will receive the heads of the Bill. I understand it will hold a meeting tomorrow about the structure of how the Chairman will propose to hold that debate. I urge everybody who has an interest in this in the Oireachtas to participate in the structure that the Chairman will set out. Clearly, when the committee deals with this business, it will come back to Government and the Bill will be prepared and will be debated here in the House. As I stated earlier, I hope that the Bill can be enacted, to bring clarity and certainty to this area after 30 years, before the House rises for the summer period. Over the years when Deputy Michael McGrath's party was in office, it offered the people two opportunities to reflect on this by way of referendum and the people made their decision clear in each case. We are now acting on the Constitution and within those legal constraints. There are no new rights being inferred here, but legal clarity and certainty for women. It is about saving lives - the lives of mothers and the lives of their unborn babies.