Sinn Féin TDs will not be allowed a conscience vote on abortion and anyone who deviates from the party line will be disciplined, the party’s new leader Mary Lou McDonald has said. “It’s a matter of private conscience but it’s also a matter of public policy,” Ms McDonald told RTÉ’s The Week in Politics on Sunday. Asked if TDs could vote in accordance with their conscience, she said: “They do have to respect and uphold and vote in accordance with Sinn Féin policy.”If not, she said, they will be subject to disciplinary action by the party. On the North, Ms McDonald said there wasn’t “anything insurmountable” in the talks between Sinn Féin and the DUP to restore the Northern Ireland Assembly and said she believed “a deal is possible”. Ms McDonald strongly rejected suggestions that there were others in the background controlling her leadership.

Source: The Irish Times February 11, 2018 13:18 UTC