Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

For some women the €450 they have to pay to access the service represents a prohibitively expensive barrier they cannot overcome. In 2017, just over 900 women from the North of Ireland travelled for an abortion. The figure is low and I venture that the financial commitment is not huge, but I do not dispute that it is a financial commitment. All of the circumstances that the Minister outlined in his reply were known to him when he made the commitment.

However, nothing has changed in the meantime. All of the circumstances were known. My colleague, Megan Fearon, MLA; Grainne Taggart of Amnesty International, the Alliance for Choice and other groups are working hard to do what they can for women in the North. However, I put it to the Minister that it was he who made the commitment and that it is up to him to deliver on it. I would welcome an opportunity to meet him again to discuss the matter. As I have said before, I assure him that he will have my party's support in bringing this about, but for many, €450 does not represent access but a barrier.

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