The debate and parliamentary vote comes a week before the publication of the findings of an expert group set up to advise the Irish government on how to bring legal clarity to the issue of abortion.

BBC: Savita Halappanavar

The prime minister tried to market the reform as part of his response to the scandal over MPs' expenses set, this week, to burst again upon an already jaundiced nation, with the publication of further details of parliamentary shenanigans.

ECONOMIST: Bagehot: 1997 revisited | The