Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I want to take Deputy Smith's advice and not rehash the referendum debate; that is a good reminder for all of us.

I want to quickly make three points.

First, a technical point, I genuinely do not believe the proposed amendment No. 13 is where the Deputy would want it because eligibility is dealt with in section 25.

Second, let us be clear that we are not doing anything radical today. Pregnant women in Ireland can visit their GP free of charge six times during their first pregnancy and five times during their second pregnancy. Women with diabetes and other conditions can visit more often. The amendment proposes to charge a certain subset of pregnant women because the Deputy does not like their decision. Pregnant women can access their GP free of charge today and what is proposed in the Bill is not a radical departure but the proposed amendment tries to discriminate against some women because some members do not like the decision they are making. I thought Ireland had moved to a better place in that regard.

The proposed allocation for this service is €12 million and I have been asked whether this money could be allocated to meet other needs. If the message is not to invest anything in women's healthcare until every other need has been solved, that is like asking women to go to the back of the queue. The sum of €12 million represents 0.0007% of the €17 billion health budget in 2019. It cost 0.0007% to care for women in this country. Let us not try to suggest that this is overly generous or flaithiúlachafter 35 years of neglect.