Howlin: no abortion vote before election

Brendan Howlin

There will be no referendum on abortion before the next general election, Public Expenditure Minister Brendan Howlin has confirmed.

The Labour TD was responding to a United Nations committee report calling on Ireland to hold a referendum on the issue. Mr Howlin said there would be no referendum of any kind before the next election.

But he stressed that the Labour general election manifesto would include a proposal to repeal the Eighth Amendment, dating from September 1983, which governs Ireland's abortion laws.

The United Nations committee concluded that two referendums must be held on Irish women's economic and social rights.