Rónán Mullen (Independent) | Oireachtas source

It is a sad piece of legislation, following many others sad pieces of legislation. We live in a country where many older people and people with vulnerable healthcare situations are worried about having to go to hospital. They are worried about what will happen to them if they go to hospital and are worried about the fact this Government is unable to manage our healthcare system properly despite the relative wealth and strength of our State.

The Minister has got an easy win for himself by caving in to an activist group and by attacking the peaceful expression of dissent on abortion. He has nothing to be proud of here I am afraid. He has shown himself not to be a democrat. He has praised his officials for working night and day on an agenda to deprive the basic freedom of witnessing the dignity of every human life born and unborn. There is nothing safe about safe access zones. There is nothing safe about what happens to the unborn child in an abortion situation. I would encourage Uachtarán na hÉireann to consult with the Council of State and to see about testing this Bill in an Article 26 reference. If that does not happen, I encourage peaceful protesters to challenge this legislation. People should continue to witness respectfully and not to be intimidated by a Government that wants to silence people. Perhaps the courts will in due course judge whether this legislation is, in fact, constitutional. That is for another day.

Shame on all involved here. I encourage the voters in the coming elections to express their disquiet about this undemocratic legislation to Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, the Green Party, Sinn féin, and other left wing candidates. Praise to Aontú and the Independents who are at least standing up for people's freedom of expression.