The death penalty should not be removed from the Constitution because society "must have deterrents", the Dail was told. Fine Gael backbencher Mr Brendan McGahon (Louth) was the only defender of the penalty in a debate about removing it from the Constitution.

Legislation to allow a referendum to abolish the death penalty was introduced by the Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue, who said the constitutional amendment would prohibit its reintroduction in any circumstances, "even in time of war or armed rebellion".

This, he said, "sends out a forceful message to the international community of Ireland's strong stance against the use of the death penalty and is one of which we as a modern democracy can be rightly proud". The death penalty was removed from legislation in 1990, but remained in the Constitution.

Mr O'Donoghue rejected Mr McGahon's claims that the murder rate was "totally out of control" with at least 200 murders a year, some reduced to manslaughter. The Minister said in both 1998 and 1999 there were 38 murders a year, 13 cases of manslaughter in 1998 and nine in 1999, the last year for which figures are available.

Mr McGahon had said "no person has the right to take a life, go to jail for seven years, possibly not serve the full seven years, and then expect to get away. What we see in the current upheaval of Irish society is the dismantling of deterrents. I would shed a tear for any person who had to be executed, but the deterrent must apply to all."

His party colleague Mr Tom Enright (FG, Loais-Offaly) strongly disagreed with Mr McGahon and stressed that the Fine Gael party was "totally opposed to the death penalty or its reintroduction at any time". Mr Enright said the murder of senators and TDs should be treated in the same way as the murder of gardai and prison officers, with a lengthy sentence.

Labour's equality and law reform spokeswoman, Ms Jan O'Sullivan, said she fundamentally disagreed with Mr McGahon "when he says that if someone takes a life, the response of the State should be to take that person's life".

Her party fully supported removing all references to the death penalty from the Constitution. The last person to be hanged was a Limerick man, Michael Manning, in 1954.

She said if the amendment was passed the Government should use its mandate to "actively campaign for the abolition of the death penalty worldwide". However, Ms O'Sullivan was "deeply disappointed" that the promised referendum on the human rights of people with disabilities "has not seen the light of day" and was urgently needed.