Gino Kenny (Dublin Mid West, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

This is the fifth anniversary of an historic referendum that changed Ireland. It gave a generational view to a new Ireland. It is in that context, and also in the context of the review by Marie O'Shea BL and the proposed Bill, that we are talking about abortion services in Ireland. The current legislation, as Ms O'Shea has said, is not fit for purpose. Ms O'Shea is unequivocal in her review and critique that the legislation put together four or five years ago needs to be updated. Hundreds of women and girls are being let down by the State with the current legislation. The Minister has said, not in the Chamber but elsewhere, that there is an arbitrary nature to the provision of abortion services in Ireland. Eight publicly funded hospitals are not providing abortion services to women.

In the time this Government has left, it must implement the recommendations of the review. The issue here is not only the review but also the people of this country who voted overwhelmingly in 2018 to progress abortion services. It is clear from the review that the legal framework for the services needs to change. The Joint Committee on Health will critique Marie O'Shea's review but it is up to the Government to put forward a new framework for implementing the recommendations. That is not the job of the committee, as previous speakers have noted. It is up to the Government to implement those changes in the time remaining to it.

The people of this country have moved on, as has the report, but the women of Ireland are still being left behind under the current legislation. This is about trust. We trust women with regard to accessing abortion services in Ireland.

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