Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I want to take note of Deputy Danny Healy-Rae's empathy for those who are forced to travel for healthcare. It is a terrible thing to be forced out of one's county, town or, indeed, country to access healthcare. It is disgraceful that people have to go by the busload to Northern Ireland to get their eyes or hips treated. I am sure the Deputy is full of empathy for women, young girls and trans people who for years have been forced onto boats and planes on a daily basis with the stigma, fear and exclusion that go with it. Very often they have to pay out a hell of a lot of money to do so and very often they have to live with a crisis pregnancy because they do not have the money to do so.

I note the amendments Deputy Nolan is putting down have everything to do with the public purse and very little to do with how an abortion procedure is carried out, but of course most of her speech was dedicated to that and I can see that this is where this debate will go for several Deputies in the House.

The Ceann Comhairle mentioned that we are 158 democrats and we all have a right to speak. I absolutely agree with that but the vast majority of people in this country have already said "Yes" to abortion rights and we need to address the fine-tuning of a Bill that is long over due. Deputy Danny Healy-Rae says that the Minister is rushing it through but I will defend the Minister, which is something I would not do very often for a Fine Gael Minister, but we have been through a long, 12 week committee process that scrutinised the Citizens' Assembly recommendations which had gone through weeks of same beforehand.

This time last year we were not even sure if we would have a referendum and a year later we are in a position where we are here legislating for abortion in this country. That is a major and amazing step forward. All I can say to Deputies who sound as if they want to go on for the next three days about stuff that is not related to the amendments and is irrelevant is that the people in their constituencies have told them by clear majorities that they want legislation for women to have access to abortion in this country.

They did not say they only wanted rich women to have access, therefore, it should not be paid for or allowed through the public health service. They did not say they only wanted privileged people to have access. That was not what they were asked. They were asked to repeal the eighth amendment to ensure that, finally, we could have access to termination and abortion in this country. That is what this Bill sets out to do.

I note the empathy for people who have to travel. I note also the distraction with the raising of other issues that have absolutely nothing to do with people’s own amendments – I am referring to Deputy Nolan – but it will be a sorry three days for the people of Ireland if we have to listen to people ignoring the democratic will of the people. The decision was decisive. It was not ambiguous; there was no if, maybe or people not being sure about it. We are setting out to act on that here today.

My last word on the amendment before us and the four later amendments grouped with it, and as was said by other Deputies, is that if we wanted to live in a country that is full of inequalities, we would support these amendments. We would say that if someone is rich, they can pay for it but if they are not, they will have to either do without it or possibly illegally access the abortion pill on the Internet. There are some disputes about the figures but between 90% ad 98% of abortions take place before 12 weeks gestation, which means that the pill is safe to cover them. If the pill is safe to cover them and we do not provide abortion services through the medical service, women, girls and transgender people will access it illegally on the Internet and will, in a lonely space, take that pill and risk their own health. There is nothing logical, fair or equal about these amendments and I, too, ask the Deputy to withdraw them.

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