David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome Mr. O'Connor and his team and thank them for their work on the Bill. It seems, on the face of it, to amount to a very simple proposition but it is more complex, as we have seen through our hearings with representatives of An Garda Síochána and others. I do not envy the Department in trying to craft a Bill that will both meet constitutional and legal requirements and strike that balance, as Mr. O'Connor said, involving the right to protest. Nevertheless, the protection of women and those who avail of services has to be our primary concern, and I appreciate that every effort is being made to ensure the Bill will do exactly that. Everything we are doing here is intended to improve the Bill and to ensure it will be fit for purpose. I commend everyone involved in that because I understand the complexities involved.

Mr. O'Connor made a very important point in his opening statement that one might argue is unrelated to the Bill, although I think it is related. It concerned mainstreaming termination of pregnancy services within the healthcare system. A review of termination of pregnancy services is ongoing and I look forward to it coming to a conclusion and making recommendations. Mr. O'Connor raised the issue of mainstreaming these services within the healthcare services. In the first instance, not enough hospitals provide services, which needs to be rectified as quickly as possible, while we know from our hearings that not enough general practitioners provide the service, which creates access problems. We have to widen access and ensure it will be as easy as possible to access the services and, obviously, that will mean more GPs and hospitals providing the services. Mr. O'Connor noted that in extending the ambit of the legislation to all potential providers as opposed to just actual providers, which I support, that might entice more general practitioners to provide the service. While there is conscientious objection from some, we know anecdotally that others have said a fear of protest might be holding them back. If that is the case, I hope this legislation, when enacted, will ensure that more GPs provide the service.

To follow on from Deputy Burke’s questions, the issue of curtilage arose frequently in our discussions. Is Mr. O'Connor saying it is the clear view of the Attorney General that such an approach would not be legally practical and that the best way to do this would be to have a zone located 100 m from the entrance of the facility? If so, does that mean all entrances? Is the Attorney General suggesting that the definition of "curtilage" was too difficult and would be too problematic?