Lynn Boylan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I second Senator Warfield's proposal to amend the Order of Business.

I raise the "RTÉ Investigates" programme that aired on Monday night relating to abortion services, which showed that the legislation agreed by this House is yet to be fully implemented. The cases we heard about on the programme should not have happened. Nobody should have had to have those experiences now that the referendum and the legislation to repeal the eighth amendment have passed. We need to make sure the legislation is working for women and that must be our guiding principle. We need to make sure services are available throughout the country - it should not be a postcode lottery - but five years after their introduction, it is clear from the show that that is not the case.

We have heard from the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, and I listened carefully to the Taoiseach talk yesterday, about how we went to the people and told them this was what they were voting for. I am concerned that is somehow code for saying the Government is not going to act to make this legislation fit for purpose and to reflect what both Houses voted for after the referendum. Certainly, the heads of the Bill that were put to the people provided for a built-in review to make sure the services were operating and were fit for purpose and that women would be able to access the healthcare they deserve. The review has been carried out and has highlighted, as I said, significant geographical barriers to services, the underdevelopment of regional services and other barriers such as the three-day wait. In no other circumstances would anybody be asked to wait for three days to see whether they really wanted to get healthcare.

This needs to be addressed in a systematic way and we need to see a clear plan from the Government as to how it is going to progress those recommendations. If it is not going to do that, it needs to be brutally honest with the public about the decision it has taken. We need to have a debate on this issue.