Ms Kate Mulkerrins:

As part of our preparation for today we have viewed the international literature on this on a desk basis. The Senator is correct on the international aspect. North America is probably the most extreme example rather than European examples. Many of the European countries have had free, legal and safe access to such services for decades. The rise of a protest group with very fundamental religious-based views is not a phenomenon that is unknown here. On the way here, I was recounting the history of the opening of contraception services close to what is now University of Galway decades ago as an example of that. As the Senator said, An Garda Síochána has the responsibility of policing the competing constitutional rights, on access and fair and reasonable protest. The delineation line is the most important point, we feel, for determining the conduct. Conduct that would be lawful outside of that zone, that is peaceful protest, becomes potentially an offence simply by entering the zone if that conduct within the zone is of the intimidatory nature that the legislation seeks to punish.