Save the 8th has issued the following statement following proceedings in the Dáil this afternoon: “Thanks to Simon Coveney, the stakes in the referendum could not now be clearer. Minister Coveney has raised a key concern for voters – that all this talk about “restrictive” abortion is absolute nonsense because the bill could be changed a month after the referendum, if politicians change their minds yet again.

While Simon Coveney’s proposals were utterly ridiculous, his concerns are absolutely correct, and now have increased prominence. If the Tánaiste does not trust politicians on abortion, how can he turn around and ask voters to do what he can not? If he is worried that the law might be changed, how can he campaign for it with a straight face?

Voters are being asked to trust the Government. But the second most senior figure in the Government does not trust his colleagues in Leinster House to keep their word on abortion.

Voters cannot vote for this absolute mess”.