Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising what is a very important issue. The background is very clear, as she will be aware. In May 2018, the Irish people voted, overwhelmingly, to repeal the eighth amendment. The Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018 was introduced in December of that year, in line with the amendment and the debate. It is important to make that point. An all-party Oireachtas committee worked through the complexities of the legislation. There is a requirement under that Act to ensure a wide-ranging review to examine the effectiveness of the operation of the legislation. That is under way. Ms Marie O'Shea, BL, has been appointed as the independent chair of the review. The Unplanned Pregnancy Support and Abortion Care Study, which was conducted by Trinity College Dublin, is part of the review provided for in the legislation. That part of the review is being carried out by Dr. Catherine Conlon and is seeking to generate an in-depth understanding of the experiences of women who have accessed abortion care services since the commencement of the Act. It will be part and parcel of, and fed into, the review. It is expected to have the entire review completed by the end of the year.

The majority of terminations of pregnancy, up to nine weeks, take place in the community setting. There are approximately 413 termination-of-pregnancy providers in the community. This includes 403 GP contractors and ten women's health contractors. The HSE is saying it is satisfied that there is a good geographic spread. We need to wait for the review to be fully satisfied with that analysis, but that is what the HSE is saying.

In terms of maternity services, I am not satisfied. Eleven of the 19 maternity hospitals provide termination of pregnancy services. A number of other maternity hospitals are expected to introduce these services before the end of 2022. The Minister has provided additional funding for women's health and the national maternity strategy, to be fair. That is resulting in a significant increase in consultant posts in our maternity services, which is helping to overcome the barrier of conscientious objection in some locations. All 19 maternity hospitals offer a range of services with regard to termination of pregnancies, including supporting women with any post-termination complications, provision of ultrasound scanning, where required, and the management of fatal foetal anomaly cases. It is important that reviews of this kind happen. It is a significant and disturbing analysis. It will be fed into the overall review and then that will be brought to the House for decisions to be taken.

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