Obviously, I would prefer if it was the Taoiseach answering today, no offence, because I wanted to ask him his views on two words which have not been uttered in the Dáil since it reported, namely, the Citizens' Assembly. Last autumn, the Taoiseach set up the Citizens' Assembly. He made it very clear it would do a first-class job. Ten days ago, the assembly finished its deliberations and recommended that the current eighth amendment had to go, that the Dáil had to legislate for abortion rights and that ultimately women themselves should be the people who make the decision that they need an abortion. I was wondering whether the Taoiseach, given the Citizens' Assembly was his brainchild, feels like the parent whose child has rebelled against him. It is very clear the Taoiseach thought the Citizens' Assembly was a pliable ploy that would come back with very minimal change. When we put 99 members of the public in a room and asked them to discuss this topic and asked them really to engage and debate it, they actually came back with a compassionate and realistic response. They want an end to hypocrisy.

Does the Minister agree that the Citizens' Assembly was a randomly selected representative sample of people from across the country like the Taoiseach said? If so, does he now believe that so-called "middle Ireland" might actually be more progressive than the Minister and others thought and that the journalists who were tone policing and advocating slow change were actually behind the curve? After all, the Minister, Deputy Richard Bruton, the current Minister for Health, Deputy Simon Harris, and the previous Minister for Health, Deputy Leo Varadkar, thought it would be fine and dandy that a National Maternity Hospital could be given over to a religious order with a history of abuse and that nobody would think that a problem. They were way behind public opinion because the general public thought otherwise.

The Tuam scandal has graphically illustrated for the public that the Catholic Church was not pro-life when it came to poor, pregnant women and their babies, but unfortunately the change in social attitudes is not reflected in this Dáil. It would appear that, right now, only Solidarity, People Before Profit and a handful of Independents have the same position on abortion as the Citizens' Assembly has recommended. Does the Minister agree that there needs to be a concerted campaign of engagement and political pressure now to bring most of the parties in the Dáil up to the level of public opinion on abortion rights? The thousands who have been demanding repeal have to actively contact and seek meetings with Deputies telling them that they want change and a referendum. Would the Minister agree that the fifth anniversary of the death of Savita Halappanavar would be a very timely occasion for this issue to be resolved? Having the Citizens' Assembly as the chosen method of dealing with the eighth amendment, are he and his party going to accept its findings or are they going to try to water them down as has been advocated by some?

First of all, I will pass on the Deputy's disappointment that the Taoiseach was not here to answer her question. I am sure the feeling is mutual.

I am sure it is.

He has other business today.

This has been a very difficult and divisive issue throughout the history of this country. I have been around for long enough to recognise how difficult it has been for many people. The motivation of the Taoiseach in establishing the Citizens' Assembly mirrors what he did in the case of the X case. As the Deputy knows, the X case lay around for 20 years, and no Dáil had the courage of its convictions to deal with what the Supreme Court had found in the X case. The Taoiseach established a process that allowed the Dáil to make those decisions. Those were done under his stewardship. The approach he took was to have a Citizens' Assembly, to follow that up with an Oireachtas committee and then to move on to legislate. He is mirroring that approach in what he is doing now. I commend the Citizens' Assembly and Ms Justice Mary Laffoy for the painstaking work that they have taken upon themselves. I am looking forward to that report which will be with us before the end of June. The Oireachtas is going to establish an all-party Dáil and Seanad committee to examine the recommendations coming from the Citizens' Assembly, and that will come back to the House. That will be done within three months of its sitting.

The Government's intention is clearly that this will not lie untouched. This is an issue of considerable importance to the people. We have established an approach that has proved itself in the past. It will give the opportunity to this House to consider these issues in a fair and balanced way without seeking to push or bully people but allowing a sensible debate based on the facts and on the work done by the assembly and by others. That is an approach that commends itself. It is the Legislature doing its work, and it is innovative in bringing in the Citizens' Assembly, which as the Deputy recognises herself, has been a very useful exercise in broadening the base of the discussion that we can have. It will be coming back to the Oireachtas and the opportunity will be here to thrash out the issues, through the committee initially and then here on the floor of the House.

I hope the Minister will answer this on his second chance. I know it is coming back to a committee and to the Oireachtas. My question was if members of Fine Gael will implement these findings or if will they ignore them. When they get onto the committee, will they seek to respect the deliberations of the Citizens' Assembly or will they seek to water them down?

The Minister and many other parties in the Dáil have not recognised that it is no longer business as usual for church-State relations in this country. That is the reality. We have the recent census figures which show there was a 75% increase in the numbers of people declaring no religion.

On Sunday, there will be march at 2 p.m. from the Garden of Remembrance, organised by Parents for Choice, to demand that the National Maternity Hospital is taken away from religious control and that church and State are actually separated in this country. I say to all those young people and women who have demanded repeal and change for a number of years that if this issue is not dealt with by the Dáil in the appropriate manner then the fifth anniversary of the death of Savita Halappanavar should be the occasion for the biggest ever pro-choice march in history in this country. People should not allow political parties to be behind the curve, as they all currently are on this issue. I would appeal to young people in particular in that regard.

I would appreciate if the Minister could answer whether Fine Gael will go into the committee respecting the Citizen's Assembly findings or not.

The Citizen's Assembly has made vital contributions to this debate, and I look forward to the details of it. I have not seen the details of it, and I do not believe any Deputy has. Deputy Coppinger herself, as an advocate of repeal, wants to see the Legislature having responsibilities in this area. The duty of every Member of this Legislature, from whatever party they come from, is to consider this issue on its merits and to make decisions here as a collective group elected by the people to decide on these issues and put whatever recommendations we decide on, if that is the judgment of the Dáil. The Legislature has to do its work. While we welcome the view of Citizen's Assembly, it is an input into our work. It has been recognised that we now need an Oireachtas committee, which will be composed of both Senators and Members of the Dáil, to tease through the issues and come back to the Dáil with recommendations so that we, as a collective group, can do the job we were elected to do.

Was the Citizen's Assembly a waste of time then?

Each and every Deputy has a responsibility, as our party has recognised, to consider the merits of these issues and make decisions on them.