Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time."

As colleagues will be aware, when the Government was formed, I made it clear that we needed a revolution in women's healthcare. This Bill is another important step on that journey. It delivers on the commitment in the programme for Government and the long-standing commitment, first made in 2018, to provide for safe access zones. At its core, the Bill is about making sure women can access legally provided services safely and with privacy and dignity. It is about making sure our healthcare providers and workers can safely provide those legal healthcare services.

I realise this is a much anticipated Bill and that it has taken time to get to this point. However, this is a complex area of law. We are seeking to balance important competing constitutional rights. Therefore, it is important that any legislative provisions introduced are implementable, enforceable and capable of standing up to any legal challenges that might be brought against them. With that in mind and following Cabinet approval last year, officials from my Department have worked extensively with the Office of the Attorney General and other relevant stakeholders to draft the text of the Bill before us today.

I take this opportunity to thank all who have played a part in the development of the Bill. I particularly express my appreciation to the Office of the Attorney General, the Department of Justice and An Garda Síochána for their considerable input into the process. I thank the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health for its work on the pre-legislative scrutiny, its thoughtful report following that work and its proposal for a provision in the legislation. I confirm that the health committee's proposal has been incorporated into the Bill. I look forward to engaging with members of the committee today and on Committee Stage. I also take the opportunity to acknowledge the considerable contribution of the Together for Safety team. In many respects, the Bill before us today builds on its innovative work and ideas in this area. Last but not least, I thank the officials in my Department, who have done Trojan work in making sure the Bill was ready to come before us today, that it is legally and constitutionally robust and that it does what we all need it to do, which is to keep women safe in accessing services and our healthcare workers safe in providing them.

Safe access zones or buffer zones have long been a feature of the legislative framework in Canada, Australia and certain states in the United States. More recently and much closer to home, the Isle of Man introduced legislation providing for such measures in 2019. Both Scotland and Northern Ireland either have followed suit or are in the process of following suit. Furthermore, the introduction of safe access zones here in Ireland is supported by clinicians providing the service in the HSE and by the Irish Medical Organisation, IMO.

The main purpose of the Bill is to address and mitigate, in so far as possible, the potential for a person's access to a termination of pregnancy to be impacted or influenced at the point of access. It will also provide additional assurance to healthcare providers that they will be afforded protections, should their services be the target of specified conduct that could interfere with their service provision and with their staff otherwise supporting the delivery of what is a lawful service.

I will go through the Bill section by section to clarify its provisions. There are seven sections. Section 1 is a standard provision containing definitions of the key terms of the Bill. As colleagues are aware, the Government decided to provide termination of pregnancy services within existing mainstream health services. This was done both to embed the provision of termination of pregnancy into primary, community and acute services and to ensure services could be provided to those needing them in relative anonymity. In line with this policy, the safe access zone legislation will not highlight the specific sites at which termination of pregnancy services are provided. Rather, it will create safe access zones 100 m from the entrance or exit to a premises where obstetricians, gynaecologists and general practitioners provide services. This will include such facilities as consulting rooms, family planning clinics and women's health clinics. The zones will also apply to hospitals that provide acute inpatient services within the meaning of section 51 of the Health Act 1970. The zones will apply in certain circumstances to shared properties and to private property.

Section 2 prohibits certain conduct in the vicinity of healthcare premises that may provide termination of pregnancy services which intentionally or recklessly impedes access or influences the decision of a person in relation to availing of, or providing, termination of pregnancy services. It is not intended to be a general prohibition on expression, assembly or protest in relation to termination of pregnancy services. The overarching aim of this provision is to protect a person's access to a lawfully available healthcare service and protect their decision to access termination of pregnancy services from unsolicited influence. Likewise, this also protects healthcare providers in their provision of termination of pregnancy services and their decision to provide termination of pregnancy services to ensure the availability of service.

Section 3 sets out exemptions that may apply in the context of prohibited conduct within safe access zones and the corresponding offences. In doing so, it further acknowledges and promotes, on a proportionate basis, the balancing of various human and constitutional rights. The section makes it clear that this Bill does not impede, impact on, prohibit or criminalise anything done by healthcare workers and other staff of the healthcare provider in the normal function of the health service.

With regard to the right to protest, the proposed legislation does not interfere with the right to advocate in favour of or against abortion, apart from in the limited areas covered by safe access zones and in the limited fashion covered by the concept of "prohibited conduct" as set out in section 2. As such, the prohibition is not on the right to protest but on exercising that right of protest within a safe access zone in a manner aimed at interfering with a person's access to a facility for the purpose of availing of or providing termination of pregnancy services.

The section clearly outlines that lawful protest outside the Houses of the Oireachtas is not prohibited by this legislative proposal, provided it is not aimed at a specific healthcare facility. The section also ensures that conduct which would otherwise be lawful, which occurs within a public place, meaning a building of worship, is not prohibited. This is to protect, for example, sermons that may be given during church services. It should be noted that this exception would not apply to, for example, grounds outside of a church within a safe access zone to avoid a situation where protestors use the grounds of a church or other similar location to circumvent the prohibited activities. The aim of this overarching approach is to ensure the effect of the proposed legislation on the rights of those affected is proportional to the objective sought to be achieved.

Section 4 sets out the powers of the Garda in respect of the enforcement of the legislation. The section contains a requirement for a Garda warning as a precursor to the commission of an offence. This mechanism was introduced to enhance legal certainty and protection of rights so that persons at risk of offending through commission of prohibited conduct are clearly made aware that they are engaging in prohibited conduct and that further conduct would amount to an offence. This provides the person concerned with the opportunity to avoid committing an offence. The criminal offence only occurs if the person engages in prohibited conduct after the warning is issued. In line with a recommendation from the Joint Committee on Health, there will also be a requirement to record the warning. The section also includes relatively standard powers of arrest and requirements to provide a member of the Garda with a name and address for the purposes of recording a warning.

Section 5 sets out the penalties arising for offences under the Bill, which may be prosecuted summarily. Penalties have been provided on an escalating basis where harsher penalties apply for repeat offences.

Section 6 is a standard provision regarding expenses incurred by the Minister in the administration of the Act.

Section 7 is a standard provision containing the Title and commencement date and will provide for commencement on a date prescribed by the Minister, by order.

Today affords us the opportunity to make a real difference in the lives of people in a very vulnerable position and to further protect healthcare workers providing legally mandated healthcare services. It is a milestone in ensuring that our friends, colleagues and family members are treated with consideration and empathy at a time when they most need our care and that they are afforded the dignity and privacy to make their own decisions. Essentially, it allows us to put safeguards in place so that women can access lawful healthcare services without intimidation, and service providers and their staff can provide them.

My own commitment to ensuring that termination of pregnancy services can be accessed quickly and easily by those who need them and without judgment or bias is a matter of public record. I believe that this Bill reflects that commitment. However, I am also aware that there are people in this House and across the country who have reservations and concerns in respect of the impact of this legislation. This is a sensitive issue and there are strongly held views on both sides. When we debated and voted for the repeal of the eighth amendment, and when we brought through the original legislation, the debate in the Houses of the Oireachtas was robust but was always respectful. The Members of the Houses conducted themselves in a fitting manner. I have no doubt but that the engagement and debate on this Bill will be robust because people have legitimately and passionately held views. I trust the debate will be equally respectful and professional.

This Bill is important. It is an important step in terms of the provision of these services, but it is only one step. There will be an increase in the number of maternity units in hospitals that are providing acute facilities. Several hospitals have been added during the lifetime of this Government. It is my intention that by early next year, all of the hospitals, all 19 maternity units, will provide those services. The latest update I have from the Department is that we are on track for 17 of the 19 to provide those services by the end of this year, with the remaining two to follow next year. These are legally provided and lawful services. While we must and do respect people's views, and while conscientious objection is rightly embedded in the legislation and any healthcare worker is free to exercise that right, we must ensure these services are provided around the country. We have a report. It is being implemented at an operational level. I know the legislative proposals will be looked at and are being looked at in detail by this House. My focus is on bringing through this Bill to ensure that the services required and provided for under law are provided around the country in community care or acute care settings, and to ensure that the various issues that have been raised around the provision of that care are addressed.

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