Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank my colleagues on the committee for their interest in this review which we can all agree is very important. The momentous referendum to repeal the eighth amendment marked a necessary and important shift in how Ireland responds to women’s healthcare. We will be looking at the review of the legislation today. As many here, and indeed those joining us remotely, will know, the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018 commenced on 1 January 2019. Under section 7 of the Act, a review of the operation of the legislation must be initiated within three years of the commencement of the Act.

As the Chairman said, I am joined today by Ms Geraldine Luddy from the Department of Health. She is the lead official on this work.

The main purpose of the Act of 2018 is to set out the law governing access to termination of pregnancy in Ireland. It permits terminations to be carried out in cases where there is a risk to the life or of serious harm to the health of the pregnant woman, including in an emergency; where there is a condition present which is likely to lead to the death of the foetus either before or within 28 days of birth; and without restriction up to 12 weeks of pregnancy. The review clause was included in the Act in order to facilitate monitoring of the impact, operation and effectiveness of the legislation in practice, as well as of the delivery of services. I am progressing the review this year in line with statutory and Government commitments. The terms of reference are published today and, as part of the first phase of the review, I am initiating a public consultation on the operation of the Act.

As I stated previously, an independent chair will be appointed to lead the review. I know from consultation with stakeholders that this is something that matters a great deal to many people with an interest in the operation of the Act and, therefore, in this review. Phase 1 of the review will capture information on the operation of the Act from the perspective of women who access the service, healthcare professionals who deliver the service and the public. There are three strands of work to phase 1.

Phase 2 of the review will be led by an independent chair who will assess the extent to which the objectives of the Act have been achieved, analysing in that regard the findings of the three strands of information from phase 1 on the operation of the Act. The chair will assess the extent to which the Act’s objectives have and have not been achieved and will make recommendations to address any barriers identified. The chair will also draw on the findings of other relevant peer-reviewed research and consult further with stakeholders and experts as necessary before providing conclusions and any recommendations next year.

It is important to say that, in the first instance, the review will focus on the operation of the legislation rather than on the policy underlying the Act. It will be informed by three streams from phase 1 to determine whether the operation of the legislation is appropriate and effective. Most important are women’s experiences of termination of pregnancy services and their views on how the system has operated since it commenced on 1 January 2019. That will be a critical source of information for the review. The review will draw on the large research study commissioned by the HSE sexual health and crisis pregnancy programme on unplanned pregnancy and abortion care, which is being led by Dr. Catherine Conlon.

The review will also gather the views of those involved in providing termination of pregnancy services in community and acute settings in across the country. We will commission independent qualitative research on the service provider perspective through the eTenders Government procurement process. That tender will issue today and the research will include input from hospitals and GP surgeries providing termination of pregnancy services, from individual medical practitioners, medical colleges, midwives and counsellors, as well as any other relevant service provider stakeholders who may be identified. I note that the list I have given there is not definitive. We are going to be as inclusive as possible in all three strands.

A public consultation will also be launched to provide members of the public, interest groups or any other interested parties an opportunity to submit their views for consideration in the review. The public consultation will be launched today on the Department of Health website.

Once the review has been completed by the chair, and we will issue a tender for this appointment in the coming days, a final report will be submitted to me, as Minister. I plan to submit the report to Government with a request that it is immediately referred to the Joint Committee on Health for discussion. I look forward to hearing and will welcome the committee’s views on the findings from the first phase, where a lot of information will be gathered, and from the second phase where we will get recommendations and analysis from the chair. It will then be for the Government and the health committee to discuss and identify how we might want to proceed.