Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I find the information provided incredibly helpful. Some of my questions have been answered and I will ask a few more.

It is quite obvious that, regardless of our deliberations, the use of abortion pills by Irish women will continue and actually increase. The delegates have given us evidence that it is safe and cheaper. Has any analysis been made against the backdrop of criminalisation, the threat of arrest and prosecution in Northern Ireland, for example, or here, to show that people are because of this prospect putting off this more convenient or easier to access option and instead travelling at greater expense and inconvenience?

Is it the view of the witnesses that for us as a committee to look at this issue and not to take on board decriminalisation we would be only doing half the job? Related to that is the fact that we have a module for dealing with ancillary recommendations. It strikes me, based on what the witnesses are saying, that we would be doing an incomplete job if we did not look at the whole area of contraception. It is utterly shocking to think that 44% of people are not using contraception. We have a huge problem in this country in not supporting people and dealing with the issue of unplanned pregnancy. Do the witnesses think that in order to deal comprehensively with abortion, we need to take those two aspects into consideration in our findings?