Mr. Muiris O'Connor:

It is a balance of rights that will be achieved, respectful of the constitutional right to protest, freedom of expression and freedom of association and assembly. They are not absolute rights. They are very strong rights that we absolutely respect and seek to promote, other than in the circumstances where they undermine the safety, privacy and dignity with which people can access healthcare services in Ireland. We are very mindful of these rights. The constitutionality of what we deliver in the safe access Bill will be dependent on how well we strike that balance. We will be very specific. We do not want to prevent or undermine any of the other rights. We will be quite specific about the behaviours that are prohibited. They will be focused on the objectives of the legislation. Any behaviours interfering with or causing distress or anxiety to service users will be forbidden. Any harassment of service providers will be forbidden. We absolutely respect the right of all individuals to have their own views and express those views, to protest and to assemble. What we want is very specific, which is to provide a zone of safety around healthcare facilities.