Frances Black (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister and I thank him for being here. There is significant concern with regard to the chairperson still not being in place, particularly to support the development of the research tenders on service provision and the selection process for researchers. I wanted to note my concerns around all of that.

I want to follow up on a couple of points. When one is towards the end of the list, many of one's questions have been already covered by those who have gone before. I want to follow up on the expert advisory panel. I believe that is really important. I would be happy if the Minister would revisit and reconsider that going forward. That decision should come from the Minister rather than him sitting down with the chairperson in regard to what he or she wants to do. I would appreciate it if the Minister could commit today to reconsidering that.

Senator Hoey raised a number of points that I want to follow up on, in particular the consultation process within the review. Can the Minister ensure the contribution and accessibility of the consultation process for those who may have had difficulty accessing legal abortion in Ireland since the legislation came into effect, by which I mean disabled persons in inpatient and residential settings, people living with limited or no GP provision, Travellers, migrants, those without PPS numbers, international students and those in direct provision? I would appreciate it if the Minister could respond to those questions.