Ministers breaching collective Cabinet responsibility should resign, Seanad Fine Gael leader Jerry Buttimer has said.

He told the Seanad it was a principle which had not changed.

“I agree that when the Cabinet makes a decision, it is a collective decision and, therefore, all members of the Cabinet are bound by it, unless they choose to resign,’’ he added.

Mr Buttimer was referring to a decision by Independent Alliance Ministers to seek a free vote on an AAA-PBP motion calling for a referendum to repeal the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution dealing with abortion.

He said a Citizens' Assembly had been set up and it behoved Oireachtas members and Ministers to stand by it and allow it do its work.

“Another motion before this House or the Dáil relating to the amendment is unhelpful and it only serves to create political controversy,’’ he added.

Process in place

“There is a process in place and it should be allowed to proceed in order that all options can be explored.’’

Mr Buttimer said the assembly could come back with a plan of action to the Government which would then refer it to a committee before, ultimately, the people decided.

Labour Senator Kevin Humphreys said he believed the amendment should be repealed, However, the Cabinet had made a decision to set up the assembly and, now, there was talk of some Ministers wanting a free vote on the abortion motion.

He said he would caution about abandoning the principle of collective Cabinet responsibility so easily and without proper debate and discussion.

Maybe, Mr Humphreys added, it was good the principle be abolished, but it should not be done blindly and without discussion. He said he welcomed the decision by Minister for Finance Michael Noonan to adjust the help-to-buy plan, as had been reported by Fiach Kelly in The Irish Times.