Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The legal advice available to me is that the safest wording in relation to this legislation is aligning the wording with that in the Constitution, which obviously also contains the word "regulation" and, without being terribly pedantic, the alternative wording does not. Once again, without wanting to be pedantic, but I suppose it is a pedantic area, the wording also refers to access to healthcare by women seeking termination which is a very important discussion but one which is much broader one than what this Bill is trying to do. All that this Bill is trying to do, landmark that it is, is to regulate access to termination of pregnancy, it is not about the wider access to healthcare. The Deputy will find something that will happen a lot over today and tomorrow is that instinctively I will agree with what she wants to do - and I agree with the points Deputy Joan Collins made - but I must be very careful that I follow the legal advice available to me. I am happy to look at it further and engage with members further on it between now and Report Stage, and I am happy to share information with the committee as to how my officials have arrived at that conclusion. However, that is the solid advice available to me.