Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour) | Oireachtas source

First, I thank the Minister for his kind words. Certainly, it has been a long road. I was just calculating that it was 34 years ago that I and a group of other students were threatened with prison for giving information on abortion to women in crisis pregnancies. We have come a long way since then but I certainly never thought at the time that it would take so long. Five years on from 2018, there has been a long delay in putting in place the necessary safe access zones. Other Deputies have spoken about the need for them but, clearly, anyone who speaks to a doctor, a medical receptionist or a practice nurse involved in the delivery of the service of abortion will be aware of the sort of intimidation going on under the radar and at a low level.

I spoke at the inaugural conference of abortion providers in Dublin earlier this year and heard from GPs, hospital doctors and other medical staff about the sort of intimidation receptionists are under, especially in small practices where GPs are known to be providers and where there is a high level of conscientious objection and, therefore, individual providers can be targeted. Even just a stone's throw from here, outside Holles Street hospital, we are seeing ongoing protests, so we are all aware of the context and the need for this legislation. It will have an important effect on deterring protesters and, therefore, on encouraging more doctors to provide where they see there is an effective action they can take against protests and intimidation.

That is why it is so important we ensure the legislation is going to be effective. The two amendments are designed to ensure it will be effective, that the warning system provided for will be robust and that there will, crucially, be a future-proofed recording method that will be more facilitative and less prescriptive. Currently, as we know, section 4(2) is very clear in stating that Garda members shall record instances in writing, and what the amendments seek to do is simply to provide a little more flexibility around that.

Finally, on the points made about whether it is the remit of the Minister for Justice or the Minister for Health, I think that, in the case of all the amending health legislation we brought forward during Covid, the Minister for Health was the designated Minister to issue directions, even on the penal provisions. That is a technical point but an important one.

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