Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will specifically answer those three questions, but I am conscious that people follow these debates and discussions at home and in the time available to me I want to say a few things.

First, six years ago abortion was constitutionally banned in this country, so a lot has changed. We had a referendum, the result of which was decisive. Since then we have steered legislation through this House. Draft legislation was published in advance of the referendum so that people would know what the law would look like if they voted "Yes". We introduced it in this House and in the other House and we passed it. Since then, despite a global pandemic that had a very significant impact on the delivery of health services, we have seen the expansion and embedding of those services. From a relatively small number of our hospitals, it got up to 12, then 17 and it is the hope and expectation of the Minister for Health that it will get to all 19 hospitals by the end of the year. Safe access zones was another legislative issue that came at us in terms of wanting women and health professionals to be able access services unimpeded. We passed the legislation in this House and I expect it will pass Committee Stage in the Seanad this evening. We continue to see a small increase in the number of GPs, community providers. I think there has been an additional 20 providers in the course of the past 12 months and that matters with respect to geographic access across the country.

The Deputy is correct that we commissioned an independent review, which we have received. The Oireachtas health committee considered it. It was sent back to the Department and Minister for Health in December. As the Deputy acknowledged, the bulk of the recommendations are in the operational space, which she also acknowledged are important. They have largely been put in place and are being embedded across the health service. There are some recommendations that are not in the operational space, but rather the legislative space and it does fall to these Houses to decide how to act on them.

On the three specific questions, they are about issues the Government has not yet considered. However, the Minister for Health will engage at the Cabinet committee on health about them shortly. They deserve serious consideration though. The way the Deputy framed them is quite responsible regarding wanting to tease through some of the nuances of how the legislation is operating. That is different from some of the views presented in this House, which suggest that the draft legislation we put before the people stating this would be the law if they voted "Yes" should not count for something. I take as constructive the points the Deputy made about the three-day waiting period, the issue of how doctors feel with respect to the criminal justice system and the issue of - the Deputy used the phrase "clarification around" - fatal foetal abnormalities. The Government will give consideration to the legislative proposals, but I am also struck, as is the Minister for Health, as the Deputy rightly said, that in politics your word matters and when you publish draft legislation-----

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