Ms Janice Donlon:

I will take the first question on the Regulation of Information (Services Outside the State for Termination of Pregnancies) Act. We acknowledged in the presentation that the Act is outdated given the current technology available to people and the access to information. That is one aspect of it. The other aspect the services report to us is that clients are often very surprised that when they attend a counselling service they can be given a list of names and addresses but they cannot be advised on which service might be best for them. They cannot be referred to a service. Their GP cannot refer them to a service and they are left alone with their list of services to contact and have to make the arrangements themselves. The counsellor cannot support them through that element of the decision. That is more difficult for some women than for others. It has been highlighted that women with additional needs or financial difficulties are presented with more challenges in making those arrangements and carrying out their decision.