Mr. Colm O'Gorman:

We are grateful to the Chairman and members for their kind invitation to discuss Amnesty International’s report on Ireland's abortion law and policy. The report is entitled, She is not a criminal: The impact of Ireland’s abortion law, and was launched this morning in Dublin. I am joined by my two colleagues from our international secretariat. They are Amnesty International's secretary general, Salil Shetty, and Amnesty International's senior legal adviser and the report author, Christina Zampas. The reason for their appearance before the committee is that this is a global Amnesty International report. Ireland is one of the focus countries for our global campaign, My Body My Rights, which highlights the control and criminalisation of sexuality and reproduction by many governments around the world. This is actually the first time Ireland has been the focus of a global campaign. Mr. Shetty will speak to the committee about that while Ms Zampas will then highlight some of the key findings and recommendations in the report.

As members are aware, this is the first time Amnesty International has appeared before this committee on the subject of abortion. We noted the committee's lengthy and extensive hearings on the general scheme of the Protection of Life during Pregnancy Bill in 2013. However, as the ambit of that Bill was narrowly framed on a real and substantial risk to life ground for access to abortion, it fell far short of what international human rights law demands. Of very particular concern is the fact that the new legislation continues to criminalise women and anyone who assists them, including health care providers, so we appreciate this committee was not in a position to debate what a human rights compliant abortion framework would involve and how that could be effected here.

Since that Bill was debated and passed, we have all watched Ms Y's tragic story unfold and the High Court PP v. HSE case cause shockwaves. Both exposed the frightening consequences of the narrow, confused and complicated legal abortion framework that emerged from that Bill. However, as our report shows, there are quieter and more hidden human rights violations playing out daily in the lives of women and girls here in Ireland.

In the aftermath of the historic "Yes" vote on Ireland’s marriage equality referendum last month, members will have heard the renewed pleas by civil society for the repeal of Article 40.3.3 of Bunreacht na hÉireann to finally be put to the people here. Having looked carefully at Irish law and its consequences, repeal of the eighth amendment is one of Amnesty International's report's central recommendations.

Today our key message and appeal to this committee is that it adds to its work programme a review of this issue. As our report shows, Ireland is not just an outlier in Europe and the rest of the world in legal terms – it is denying its women and girls their fundamental human rights and causing them untold harm. This is an urgent and grave human rights issue, one which is now galvanising our members throughout the world. This committee has the power to bring a fresh Oireachtas examination to this issue and place before this Government and the next one a mandate and roadmap for legislative and constitutional reform.