Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

One of the recommendations of the Citizens' Assembly in the ancillary module, which we are considering, was that obstetric services should be available to all women, regardless of location, socio-economic position etc. I found it fascinating that the British Pregnancy Advice Service was able to show us statistically that women who went from Ireland to Britain for abortions very often came back and were not able to afford follow-up contraception that was permanent and of a barrier nature because, for example, a coil would cost €250, an implant €250, or a cap €120. They would already have forked out in the region of €1,500 in travel, accommodation and having a procedure in Britain. Is the Department considering the recommendation of the Citizens' Assembly on the provision of permanent methods of contraception for women after a crisis pregnancy, or indeed before, in other words, the provision of full obstetric medicine available to all women and girls in respect of how we might deal with crisis pregnancy?