Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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The Government has indicated that it is not opposing the Second Reading of the Bill. I call Deputy Mary Lou McDonald to move the Second Reading.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time."

This is an important piece of legislation before the Dáil. It is a Bill to remove the mandatory three-day wait for women who need an abortion. It goes without saying that every woman must have the space, the understanding and the support she needs to come to her decision in her time. Any woman making this decision will have given it very deep thought. We should never underestimate, dismiss or discount that reality. To force a woman to wait for three days is just wrong. Tomorrow night, every TD will have an opportunity to right that wrong, to vote to change the law to remove this barrier to healthcare for women and to uphold the promise of repeal and take a significant step toward compassion. After all, that was the guiding principle when the people voted to repeal the eighth amendment eight years ago. We said then that we would trust women, and that is what we must do, not just with words or promises but with delivery.

In truth, the three-day waiting period should never have been introduced. In fact, the original review of the legislation states very clearly that the three-day wait has to go. This is a considered recommendation based on real experience and the real impact of the enforced wait on the lives of women. This wait has caused huge harm and trauma. The three-day mandatory wait has seen women pushed beyond the 12-week period, meaning that they cannot access services here in Ireland. Eight years after repeal, some women are still forced to travel abroad. Women who have been sexually assaulted, who are the victims of domestic violence or are in abusive coercive relationships are left in the most awful of circumstances. The wait is also a very serious problem for women who have difficulty accessing a GP and services in their own county. Many are forced to travel for hours for the initial appointment, only to be sent away and told to return again after three days. I cannot tell the Minister of State the level of distress, suffering and emotional anguish for women across the country that this has caused. None of this is care. None of this is fair. None of this is compassionate.

The three-day wait simply denies women the right to come to their decisions about their healthcare on their own terms and in their own time. It is wrong that women are forced into this arbitrary delay when they have already made a decision and presented themselves to their doctor. The three-day wait is not healthcare. It does not make services safer or better. It only serves as a barrier to women accessing the service they need. I believe there is widespread support across our society to end this three-day wait, for us to live up to the declaration that women are trusted and that we are respected to make decisions in our own time with compassion, space, understanding and care.

Today, we can change the law. Irish women have been failed in so many ways for such a long time. We now have an opportunity to put one of those wrongs to right.

I am conscious the review of the legislation asks that the Dáil and the Oireachtas consider other matters, including fatal foetal anomaly, and I urge the Government to establish the expert panel necessary to give us the advice, as an Oireachtas, in respect of those matters.

I acknowledge the Government has indicated support for this legislation. I very much welcome that, and the support from Members right across the benches in this House. It is so important we work together to make this really essential change and that we all do the right thing by women.

When the people voted to repeal the eighth amendment in 2018, it was a watershed moment, and the message was loud and clear; the days of women being denied the right to make decisions about our own healthcare were over. Trust, compassion and care; those were the values the Irish people chose to back. By voting to remove the three-day wait we can take a significant step to honouring that promise because for too long women have been let down. This is our opportunity now to ensure compassion and trust prevail.

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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In 2018, the people voted in a historic referendum to appeal the eighth amendment and to remove legal barriers preventing women from exercising choice over their own pregnancies. This Bill is about respecting and trusting women in exercising that choice to access the care they need when they need it. It is about recognising that women do not take this decision lightly, that this is something they consider deeply and that they do not need the State or politicians to force them to wait for longer, as if they cannot be trusted to make decisions about their own pregnancies for themselves in their own time.

This is a straightforward and targeted Bill. It does just one thing. It proposes to remove the mandatory three-day wait for access to an abortion during early pregnancy. It does this by deleting section 12(3) and by amending section 12(4) to remove the requirement for three days to have elapsed before a termination can be carried out. It does not require an abortion to happen on the day of a first consultation but when a woman is certain that this is what she wants, it allows her to make that decision for herself in her own time about her own pregnancy without a mandatory delay. I am open to working across the House on an amendment to clarify this further in the Bill, and I hope to do so. I understand there may be a number of technical amendments needed by Government if and when this Bill goes to Committee Stage.

Under the current law, when a woman attends a doctor seeking a termination of pregnancy within the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, the doctor must certify that it has been fewer than 12 weeks since the end of the pregnant woman's last period. A woman must then wait for at least three days before the doctor can carry out the procedure. The termination cannot happen at all if a woman subsequently times out of the 12-week period due to the mandatory delay. Instead, our Bill allows the termination to take place as soon as may be desired by the woman in her own time. This allows women who have made up their mind to access care when they seek it and still allows time for reflection for a woman who still needs time to think about this decision. This is important because the clear feedback from women is that they were bring pushed beyond the 12-week threshold by the three-day mandatory wait or were unable to secure a second appointment on time, which denied them their choice to end a pregnancy.

Sinn Féin has always been clear and consistent that we did not approve of the mandatory waiting period; that it puts women in difficult positions; and that it is not compassionate to women who have suffered rape or sexual assault, to women who learn of their pregnancy late or to women who are subject to controlling or abusing partners and for whom that first appointment may be the only appointment they get.

The three-day wait was examined as part of the review of the operation of the Act. Its removal is one of the clearest recommendations arising from that process. We recognise in law and in policy that women should have access to abortion services on the basis of their own choice. This was the compassionate position put before the people in 2018 and it is the basis on which services have been provided since. The question before us now is whether the State should continue to impose an arbitrary delay after a woman has already made her decision and presented to a doctor. I do not believe that it should. This waiting period does not provide care. It does not provide support. It does not make any service safer. It simply makes access harder, especially for those who can least afford delay. It can create real difficulty for women: for women who have travelled for long distances; for women arranging time off work or childcare; for women in crisis; and for women living with coercive, controlling partners, or domestic violence. For many women, having to return days later is not a small inconvenience but it can be a very serious barrier and has been identified as such.

Removing the mandatory waiting period does not mean that the termination must take place on the first day. It does not remove a woman's ability to take more time if she wants to and in those circumstances she should and she must be supported. What this Bill does is remove the requirement that the State must force every woman to wait, regardless of her circumstances, her decision, her health or her needs.

This Bill clearly sets out the Sinn Féin policy that was endorsed at our Ard-Fheis earlier this year. This Bill strikes the right balance. It is the right change to make. It is overdue. It respects women's decisions. It removes an unnecessary barrier to care. There are many other issues that these Houses should and must work through, arising from the review of the Act. I commend this Bill to the House.

Joanna Byrne (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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I am immensely proud to have played an active part in campaigning to repeal the eighth amendment. I had so many people share their very private and personal experiences with me on the doorsteps in Drogheda and the wider parts of my county. Activists of all political hues joined together under the banner of Together For Yes. We asked voters to trust women and we asked them to support providing compassionate care at home. We met daughters, mothers, sisters and grandmothers from all walks of life who had their own harrowing experiences of being forced to travel, forced to borrow money and, crucially, being forced to wait to access terminations.

In my home county of Louth, 66.5% of voters said "Yes" to repealing the eighth amendment. At a time when we watched women's rights and autonomy being eroded in other parts of the world, activists young and old took pride in playing their part in reclaiming their bodies and rights here at home.

Now, more than six years on, we know that forcing women to wait for a mandatory three-day period is having a negative impact and that it is a barrier to accessing the same compassionate care people voted for. To the best of my knowledge, a three-day waiting period enshrined in law does not apply to any other medical procedure, yet here we are this evening debating the removal of a mandatory wait that is applied to women's healthcare. The waiting period does not provide care. It leaves women exposed, isolated and vulnerable. It adds unnecessary stress and anxiety to what is an already difficult decision and sometimes in awful, harrowing circumstances.

Nobody makes the decision to access a termination lightly and removing this mandatory three-day wait will not stop anyone who wants to take more time to make their decision. Removing this unnecessary wait period is the right thing to do and instead of offering isolation, we would be offering compassion. Women deserve dignity, women deserve respect and, crucially, women deserve trust - trust to make that decision for themselves in their own time about their own pregnancies without a mandatory delay.

Ann Graves (Dublin Fingal East, Sinn Fein)
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Removal of the mandatory three-day wait period for abortion in early pregnancy is a hugely step forward for women the length and breadth of this country. As it stands, it affects women's access to healthcare right across Ireland; women from all different backgrounds who have made their choices for many different reasons. We have to put the health of women to the forefront and this is key to the Sinn Féin legislation. This Bill supports and trusts women. It allows women access to healthcare in a respectful and understanding way and it respects their choice.

Ireland has come a long way in my lifetime. We are a far more understanding and caring society than the one I grew up in but we still have more to do. I have seen the negative spin around this on social media. It does not reflect the needs of the women in Ireland or the views of the wider public. I have seen some people attempt to muddy the waters, play politics with women's health, and make baseless claims about this Bill. This Bill is focused on the three-day wait and nothing else. I acknowledge all those women and men who campaigned against the original eighth amendment and then successfully campaigned to remove that amendment from the Constitution.

The three-day wait should never have been introduced and has had serious consequences. It is time for the law to change and this will be a significant move towards removing barriers to women accessing healthcare.

Since the repeal of the eighth amendment and the passing of abortion legislation, there have been concerns expressed at the mandatory three-day wait and the negative implications it has had for women. A review of the legislation recommended that it had to go. Any woman making this decision will not have done so lightly. Removing the mandatory wait does not mean a woman cannot take more time if she wishes, this option will still, of course, be available but forcing a woman into a three-day mandatory wait is not on. It has had a very negative effect and it is cruel. It has meant that some women time out and have to travel abroad simply because they cannot get access to care. Perhaps they have difficulty getting a GP appointment in their area.

It has had serious consequences for women in very difficult circumstances where they are victims of domestic violence or sexual assault, and are being forced into additional trauma and distress. I am working with a woman in my constituency who was abused for years by a close family member. When she discovered she was pregnant she was devastated and decided on a termination. She had her mind made up and there was no question but she found the three-day delay very difficult to deal with. Not only had she to deal with abuse, which she is now addressing, thankfully, she has also suffered through an additional needless wait.

Sinn Féin published the legislation and moved First Stage on 7 June, a number of weeks after our party's Ard-Fheis endorsed the position. I am happy the Government is supporting the Bill but to those TDs who may have doubts about it, I ask them to please stop and think about the women they know. I ask them to put themselves in their shoes, support them, trust in them and please do the right thing by supporting the Bill.

Donna McGettigan (Clare, Sinn Fein)
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I thank my colleagues in Sinn Féin for the Bill. At its heart, this legislation is about one simple principle, which is trusting women. The mandatory three-day waiting period does not provide care and it does not provide support. What it does is make women wait. It delays access to healthcare at what is already one of the most difficult moments in their lives. Do we really believe that women have not already thought long and hard about this decision before they walk through the door of a GP or consultant's office? It is not an easy decision and it is not one taken lightly. By the time a woman seeks an abortion, she has already gone through an agonising process of reflection and consideration.

The State should not be in the business of imposing barriers based on an outdated notion that women cannot be trusted to make decisions about their own healthcare. For some women this delay can be particularly cruel. Think of those experiencing coercive control, women trapped in abusive relationships, and victims of domestic violence, rape and sexual assault. For these women every extra day can mean further distress and trauma. Imagine the courage it takes for a young woman who has been sexually abused to come forward to seek medical help and to make a decision about her future. The last thing she needs to be told is to go away and wait. We cannot justify forcing victims of rape, sexual assault and abuse to endure additional waiting periods that serve no medical purpose.

There may also be women in situations of rape or sexual assault who find out late about their pregnancy due to the trauma they are enduring. Making them wait could mean them reliving the trauma for days more than they should. We all know that accessing a GP in a timely manner is becoming increasingly difficult. This also causes delays and anxiety. The mandatory waiting period does not ease this burden but prolongs it and extends the agony at a time when compassion should be the guiding light. We must also remember that some women could be going through this alone.

The Bill does not require an abortion to take place at the first consultation. It does not remove the option of taking more time. Any woman who wishes to wait three days can still do so. This choice will remain entirely hers. What the Bill does is remove the mandatory wait. It removes the State-imposed delay and allows a woman, in consultation with her healthcare provider, to decide what is right for her and when. The legislation recognises a very simple truth, which is that women are capable of making decisions about their own lives and their own bodies.

We said during the referendum campaign that we would trust women. If we meant these words, then we must mean it now. The question in the Bill is straight forward. It is whether or not we trust women. We have heard from countless women who have been forced to endure this waiting time. They have told us it did not change their minds and that it did not provide comfort or offer reassurance, it simply prolonged what was already a difficult experience. This legislation is not radical but it is compassionate and it gives women the respect they deserve.

Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I am taking this debate on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Health, Deputy Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, who unfortunately is unable to be here this evening as she is attending a meeting of EU heath ministers in Luxembourg. I assure the House she would have been here otherwise and I am sure that Members will appreciate that it just was not possible for her to be here this evening. I have spoken to the Minister and I will seek to reflect her views and the views of the Department in the information provided in the debate on the Bill.

I thank Sinn Féin and Deputy Cullinane for their work on this Bill. I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this important debate. Like the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, and many of us here in the House, I have heard the experiences of women who have availed of termination of pregnancy services. Their honesty and their feedback are so appreciated and so valued. The Minister has also heard the views of clinicians and medical practitioners. I recognise that there is a broad spectrum of sincerely held opinion on the issue of termination of pregnancy, and on the removal of the three-day wait.

This House needs to facilitate an open and respectful debate to reflect both sides of the argument and all views. It is important that all voices are heard and that we respect and listen to each other. The Government is committed to ensuring that there is safe and equitable access to termination of pregnancy services. I assure the House that this remains an ongoing priority. I am also aware that the arguments for and against the removal of the mandatory three-day waiting period have been well aired in the public domain.

At the outset, one very important thing to do is to point out that the current model of care, which includes the three-day wait, is safe and effective. There are some very practical and operational considerations and challenges involved in abolishing the three-day wait. These are not insurmountable. However, I do have a responsibility to the House to be frank and to set them out. It is critical that when we are required to vote, we do so on the basis that we are making an informed choice, so I will now set out some of the implications of the Bill.

I understand the reasons behind the three-day wait and the reluctance and concerns of those who oppose its removal. I am aware it was included in the 2018 Act, the outline of which was published as part of the information campaign on the referendum itself. It allows individuals to consider their decision carefully and avoid feeling rushed or pressured. It was intended to act as a legal safeguard demonstrating the serious and irreversible nature of the decision. From an operational perspective, the waiting period provides a structured and predictable pathway for service users and providers.

The HSE advises that the current model of care is safe and effective and that, as it stands, the model of care for termination of pregnancy services, the national clinical guidelines, service configuration and public information materials all centre around the requirement for a three-day wait. The provision of services would, therefore, have to be fundamentally reconfigured if this Bill were to pass. It would, therefore, require careful consideration and planning. The removal of the statutory waiting period would have implications for the current model of care, the national clinical guidelines, service configuration and public information materials, as I have said.

Clarification would be required regarding whether assessment and treatment could occur during the same visit, whether same-day treatment would be expected or simply permitted, and whether any reflection period would remain available at the request of the service user. The existing service model is based on separate stages of assessment, certification and treatment. Any move towards a more flexible or same-day pathway would necessitate changes to clinic scheduling, workforce deployment, patient flow arrangements and administrative processes. Consideration would also need to be given to the potential impact on service demand and capacity, particularly if there is an increase in requests for treatment on the day of assessment. As I have said, these are not insurmountable.

It is also important to point out that some of the logistical difficulties or burdens associated with the three-day wait have been alleviated by the introduction of the blended model of care for termination of pregnancy services in the community. This model, as Members may be aware, was first introduced in response to the Covid pandemic and has been approved as the enduring model of care. Under this approach, it is possible for one of the two consultations required for termination in early pregnancy, usually the first, to take place remotely.

On the other hand, it is necessary to recognise that mandatory waiting periods represent a departure from the norm when it comes to health. In most areas of healthcare, informed consent is based on a patient's capacity, understanding and voluntary decision-making rather than a prescribed waiting period. This debate provides us with the opportunity to reflect on whether it is necessary or, indeed, appropriate to retain such a requirement here in Ireland.

I am aware that there are many who continue to view it as a necessary protection that provides women with a valued opportunity for reflection and consideration before treatment proceeds. Some will point to the gap in the numbers between those presenting for a first appointment and those proceeding to terminate the pregnancy. They will argue that the provision is saving lives. It is worth mentioning that the figures quoted in this respect are not collated for, or a reflection of, evaluating the effectiveness of the three-day wait. They are simply claims for payment from community providers, which are subject to review and change.

There are many reasons a woman may not return for a second appointment with a community provider. First, she may be over nine weeks pregnant and therefore be transferred into the hospital system. She may not have been pregnant at all. She may miscarry, or she may travel abroad for care. Undoubtedly, there is a proportion of women who are changing their minds, although many studies, such as that of the Irish Family Planning Association, IFPA, would suggest that the figure is quite small. It would be important to ensure that any proposed amendment to the current legislation makes provision for the retention of a reflection period should a woman wish to avail of it.

It is important to emphasise that women can continue to change their minds if they so wish. The lack of a mandatory reflection period would not mean a woman could not change her mind. She is perfectly at liberty, after discussing the matter with her doctor, to decide not to proceed with the termination. The decision is hers and hers alone. Moreover, there are supports available to assist her in making that decision, should she wish to avail of them. The HSE-funded My Options service offers non-directive counselling and information for people experiencing an unplanned pregnancy. My Options is staffed by professionally trained counsellors who are experienced in providing support to women experiencing an unplanned pregnancy. The ethos of the service is client centred and counsellors take their lead from the person contacting them for information and support.

More fundamentally, we must acknowledge the difficulties that the mandatory waiting period can present for some women. It may in some circumstances create an unnecessary delay once a clear and informed decision has been made. Some women have said that it creates practical challenges relating to travel, childcare, employment and other personal circumstances. Moreover, the additional appointments and administrative processes can push patients past gestational limits. These can pose particular difficulties for vulnerable groups and individuals.

The unplanned abortion care study, commissioned as part of the review of the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018, explored the experiences of individuals accessing abortion services under section 12 of the Act. The findings indicate that the mandatory three-day waiting period was a recurring feature of discussions across the majority of interviews conducted. Participants expressed a range of views regarding its value and impact. While some regarded it as a procedural requirement that had to be navigated, others viewed it as a barrier or deterrent to accessing care. Very few participants considered the waiting period to have been beneficial to their own decision-making process, although some acknowledged that other women might value additional time for reflection.

Internationally, the landscape has also shifted somewhat away from mandatory waiting periods. Health bodies such as the United Nations and the World Health Organization, WHO, take a clear and evidence-based position on mandatory waiting periods for termination of pregnancy. The WHO, in its 2022 abortion care guideline, explicitly recommends against mandatory waiting periods, arguing that research shows that such delays offer no medical benefit and instead only restrict access to care and undermine service provision. These concerns are echoed by human rights bodies within the United Nations. In addition, while reflection periods were a feature of the legislative regimes in many European countries at the time of the introduction of the 2018 Act, a number of jurisdictions, including Spain, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, have since removed them, reflecting a broader trend towards reliance on standard informed consent processes.

In conclusion, I would like to once again thank Sinn Féin for introducing this Private Members' Bill. It is important that we as legislators provide a forum to debate important issues. The requirement for a mandatory waiting period is primarily a policy choice, and we need to consistently look at our policies. This Bill provides us with an opportunity to reflect on the operation of the three-day wait. Those who support the passage of the Bill will point to the significant burdens enforced delays can cause, while those who oppose it will argue that the waiting period is not a barrier but a protection against rushing into a choice a person may later regret. The key challenge now in coming to a decision on the Bill is to find the appropriate balance between protective measures and compassionate, timely access to healthcare.

I would like to conclude my remarks by making it clear that should this Private Members' Bill pass Second Stage, there will be full access to appropriate legal and drafting expertise to ensure there are no unintended consequences and that the legislation will be as robust as possible if it passes. I look forward to a constructive engagement.

Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal West, Sinn Fein)
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I thank my colleague, an Teachta Cullinane, for bringing forward this legislation. I look back on the speeches given on the day the post-repeal legislation was introduced here in the Dáil. The three-day wait was opposed by Sinn Féin, the Labour Party and People Before Profit, PBP. I have to say that we were right to oppose it. I am glad to say that other parties that did not take the opportunity that night have come to the same conclusion.

The three-day wait is nothing more than a political construct. It was not recommended by the citizens' assembly, and anyone who watched the proceedings, as I did, knows the assembly was very comprehensive in its deliberations. It was not recommended by the eighth amendment committee, of which I was a member. In all of our hours and hours of discussion over many months, we never recommended a three-day wait. It was inserted by Fine Gael, and I hope that I will see many Fine Gaelers in here tomorrow voting in the right way this time to get it gone.

I would like, as I generally do when I discuss abortion healthcare, to recall those many people who campaigned for access over so many decades. These include people like my parents, who campaigned against the insertion of the eighth amendment, and Ailbhe Smyth, who, as we know, was a tireless campaigner for women's rights. I also recall those women who were the victims of regressive laws and denied access to care. These were women like Sheila Hodgers, who was a very good friend of my mother's, Ann Lovett and Savita Halappanavar, and there are many more whom I do not have time to list this evening.

My activism on abortion rights did not start with repeal, and I am not naive enough to believe that it will end with one debate or one law, because I know this is a fight that we must continue. I was a small child when I first marched with my mam for abortion access. Then, we were marching for information. I marched with my friends to get the State to legislate for X. I marched and campaigned with my daughter and, although he was tiny, with my grandson for repeal. At every stage, we count our wins, we accept our losses and we keep going. This legislation is evidence of that. We will keep going.

Let us get the three-day wait gone. Let us mark our progress. Let us keep campaigning for women's rights, because I am long enough around and long enough campaigning to know that one piece of legislation without consensus makes a point. Building consensus and getting the law changed makes a real difference.

Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh (Kildare South, Sinn Fein)
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The three-day wait has to go. I am glad to get the chance to speak on this Bill. I welcome Sinn Féin's constructive and consensus-seeking approach on this key issue affecting every woman in this State in one way or another. It is a modest proposal, doing the bare minimum in implementing a key recommendation of the O'Shea report.

The three-day wait is backward, causing harm to women and forcing them to go abroad for essential healthcare. When the Irish people voted for repeal, they voted to trust women, give them ownership over their own bodies and allow them to choose whether they were prepared to carry and welcome a child into the world. This is a very serious decision, and we can all rest assured it is given serious consideration by mná na hÉireann. No woman having an abortion is making the choice lightly or frivolously. We have a responsibility to take women's agency seriously and to trust their judgment. We cannot, on the one hand, say we are giving women the choice and, on the other, say they have to wait. It is paternalistic and patriarchal, taking control away from women regarding decisions to do with their own bodies.

We have all heard stories of the awful predicament this rule leaves women in and, as such, it represents an unacceptable barrier to access. Women who are victims of sexual violence and coercive control, women who do not have easy access to GP care and women who learn of their pregnancies late cannot afford to wait. These women should not be punished for the failings of society.

This Sinn Féin Bill takes an important step towards a compassionate vision of healthcare that places the well-being of patients at the centre. This is only the first step. Many other barriers remain for women accessing reproductive rights. Crucially, abortion care needs to be removed from the law related to criminal offences in the Statute Book.

Caithfear fáil réidh leis an tréimhse feithimh trí lá chun rochtain a fháil ar ghinmhilleadh. Níl sé ag coinneáil le spiorad an reifrinn repeal a thug cearta do mhná maidir le féinriar colainne. Teastaíonn uainn smacht a thabhairt do mhná ar chinntí a bhaineann lena gcolainn féin agus muinín a chur iontu go bhfuil siad ag déanamh an chinnidh chirt dóibh féin. Tá an tréimhse feithimh ag déanamh dochar d'an-chuid ban agus ag cur iachall orthu taisteal. Molaim do gach Teachta sa Teach seo tacú lenár mBille agus muinín a léiriú i mná na hÉireann.

Mairéad Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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Just over eight years ago, the people of this State made a decision. They made that decision to repeal the eighth amendment. We saw how it impacted on people. It impacted on young people and older people. We saw how this created a movement that saw young Irish people who were scattered across the globe come home to vote in what they felt was a critical referendum for their future.

Many of us here, including me, got involved in campaign groups with people of a variety of political viewpoints to make a change we all felt was necessary. We knocked on doors, had long conversations with many people and, on 25 May 2018, the people voted and made the decision to repeal the amendment. That decision was rooted in a trust of women – a trust in women's decision-making and a deep need for compassion around women's healthcare.

It is now eight years later and we now have women with lived experiences who have spoken to all of us in this Chamber and who have felt the need to share their stories in order to help others. The question of the mandatory three-day wait has been to the forefront of this conversation. Sinn Féin has been clear from the get-go that we are opposed to the three-day wait and that it hinders women's ability to access the care they need. This is not just something we believe but something women have told us consistently since the repeal of the eighth amendment.

As with everything, there are many examples and differing realities concerning how people are impacted. I am conscious when I give examples of those impacted that there are people watching today who have had different experiences. Of course, we think of all of those experiences. However, the issues of coercive control and domestic abuse are becoming far more prevalent in public discourse. With greater recognition of the effects they have, we realise the reality for women in such scenarios is that access to a first medical appointment may be incredibly difficult to arrange. It can be impossible to arrange a second one. Some women may find out later in pregnancy that they are in fact pregnant and, therefore, the three-day wait may push them out of the timeline that allows for termination. It is not showing the compassion to survivors of sexual assault and rape that they should be shown within the healthcare system. There are, of course, many other scenarios, but it ultimately comes down to the fact that the three-day wait is not grounded in the compassionate healthcare that women need. I hope this Chamber votes to get rid of it tomorrow evening.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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We now move to the Social Democrats. Deputies Pádraig Rice and Sinéad Gibney are sharing time. They have six minutes each.

Pádraig Rice (Cork South-Central, Social Democrats)
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On behalf of the Social Democrats, I am delighted to welcome this Bill and say we will be supporting it. We support access to free, safe and legal abortion. We need to trust women, listen to them, provide care with compassion and remove barriers to access. There are currently too many barriers to accessing terminations in Ireland, and the three-day wait is a core part of that and needs to be removed. We are strongly in support of that.

As others have said, the three-day wait is medically unnecessary and insulting to women. It is the only form of healthcare with a State-imposed delay. It is a paternalistic restriction, and we have a history of paternalistic attitudes in our healthcare service that need to be undone. It is interfering with women's ability to make decisions about their own bodies and it is having a disproportionate effect on vulnerable groups, including those experiencing domestic violence, those who have language-based access issues, those who struggle to access a GP, and many others. We are aware that the World Health Organization recommends against the provision because there is no medical evidence for it. It is beyond time that the three-day wait was gone.

We are aware that there are other barriers, like people being forced to take additional days off work just in order to go back to the second appointment. Therefore, the provision is completely unnecessary and needs to go. We are also aware that there are huge issues in accessing GP services across the country. My party had a motion setting out a 20-point plan on how to improve access to GP services. Some women are forced to travel between counties to access GP services and, under the three-day wait, are forced to do that twice and at a huge personal cost. Therefore, the provision absolutely needs to be removed.

Others will talk here about the number of people who change their mind or do not return for the second appointment, as the Minister of State referred to, but this is not just about people changing their minds. There are issues around having miscarriages, negative pregnancy tests, ectopic pregnancies, having gone to another doctor, having gone over time, having travelled abroad and having been pushed over the 12-week limit between the two appointments. There are many reasons people may not return to the second appointment. They may have difficulty accessing an appointment.

There is an uneven distribution of services across the country and that impacts marginalised and vulnerable women in particular. The IFPA conducts an annual analysis of its services, and this is probably the most detailed qualitative data set available. It has found that 98% of its clients proceeded to access abortion care following the three-day wait. This data makes it clear that women are affirming their decisions before consulting a medical professional. The IFPA has said that standard practice regarding informed consent is that doctors encourage patients to take additional time if that is what they need, but there is no scientific support for imposing a time limit. Women will still be able to have that time to make the decision, but it just will not be enforced.

It is welcome that the rule will be removed and it is welcome to hear that there is significant support across the House, including, I understand, from the Taoiseach, Tánaiste and others in government, for making this change. From the Social Democrats' perspective, we would have gone further. Our Bill a number of weeks ago would have gone further with the changes.

The O'Shea report had a series of recommendations. The review was provided for in the original legislation in 2018. The O'Shea report should not be allowed to sit on a shelf and gather dust. Its recommendations should be implemented in full, and we need to make progress beyond just the three-day wait, including on decriminalisation. The arrangement is having a chilling effect on doctors, and there is the possibility of a 14-year prison sentence.

We also need to make changes in terms of fatal foetal abnormality to ensure no more women have to travel abroad. That was core to the referendum. I was the secretary of Cork Together for Yes for a long time and I knocked on many doors and spoke to many women. When we were campaigning in Cork and across the country, it came up time and again that women should not have to travel abroad to access services that should be available in Ireland. Until we make all the required changes, women will continue to travel abroad, and we cannot have it. We must be brave in this Oireachtas, go further and implement those changes, particularly in respect of the 28-day limit in terms of fatal foetal abnormality.

We know that, in most European countries, it is recognised that fatal foetal conditions and the length of neonatal survival are unpredictable and most other countries avoid having specific day counts. We should follow suit here.

The Social Democrats would have liked to have gone further. However, I hope this Bill passes and makes progress. I hope it is enacted and put on the Statute Book. I have a concern that that is as far as this Oireachtas will go and we will be left waiting until the next Oireachtas or longer, that women will be left waiting and the political energy and capital was spent on this one change as opposed to the further and deeper reforms that are needed and are recommended in the O'Shea report, which was commissioned by the Government. I would like the Oireachtas to do more and to remove more barriers, provide expanded access and address the concerns being set out by doctors and women. I would like the Oireachtas to go further.

There has been positive engagement from the Minister in working with Opposition parties on amendments and improving Bills. I wish a similar approach were adopted to Opposition legislation in other areas. I would like a more constructive approach to be adopted by the Government to matters we raise rather than rejecting them out of hand.

Sinéad Gibney (Dublin Rathdown, Social Democrats)
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I also welcome the Bill and thank Sinn Féin for its work in bringing it to the Dáil floor. Repeal is deeply a part of who we are as a party. There are many members and, indeed, elected representatives within our party who were politically mobilised and activated by their experience in repeal and who feel passionately about the full implementation of the repeal movement and what it means for women and reproductive rights in Ireland.

I welcome, most importantly, the opportunity to address what is a legislative gap that was identified in the O'Shea report and urgently needs to be addressed. The three-day wait is a hangover of the infantilising, patronising and misogynistic treatment of women that we have seen recur many times in our provision of health services in this country. Symphysiotomy is another example. There are many more ways in which women have been mistreated through the provision of healthcare and this is another example. What we learned from the repeal campaign and the stories of so many women, and, since then, the implementation of the legislation and the provision of abortion care in Ireland, is that women know their own bodies. Women need to be trusted.

Twenty-six years ago, I was in the middle of a crisis pregnancy. I was a young woman. I was not in a relationship with my daughter's father. In many ways, people would have expected me to be a prime candidate for an abortion. I remember from the moment I got pregnant that I wanted the baby. We talk a lot about choice. For me, it was compulsion. There was no decision-making. When we think about choice and what women go through, we think that they sit down and tot things up. That was not my experience. Many friends of mine have accessed abortion care. On paper, they probably had the types of circumstance that people would not have assumed would prompt them towards termination. The reality is that we, ourselves individually and in consultation with appropriate healthcare providers, know our minds, bodies, health and circumstances, and we know our own family planning. We need to be able to access it. The imposition of a three-day waiting period goes against all of that. By all means, if people wish to self-impose a three-day waiting period, they absolutely should if it makes sense to them. Going back to that determination of choice, we need to speak to and listen to women, and we know that the three-day waiting period, if it is imposed in a mandatory way, is wrong and redundant and simply must go.

It is regrettable that this legislation does not cover the comprehensive gaps we know are there. The O'Shea report came of the review mechanism that was built into the 2018 Act. It provided an analysis of the implementation and a clear roadmap for how to address those gaps. Those operational gaps have been filled, as we know, by the Department through the provision across multiple hospitals and all the different ways it can be done without legislation. There have, however, been tumbleweeds in respect of the legislative changes recommended in the report.

It is welcome that the Bill is being welcomed by the Government. There are indications that Government representatives will be voting in favour of it. However, I find it hard to stomach that our own legislation was not supported in the same way just a couple of weeks ago. Any concerns about these additional measures, which we know need to be addressed, could have been ironed out on Committee Stage. The Minister of State spoke in her opening comments about an open and respectful debate. That is all we were seeking in providing for comprehensive coverage of the gaps that were identified by Marie O'Shea in a way that we believed would provide a positive legislative roadmap going forward. If we cast our minds back to 2018, we know it was the case that many voters in Ireland were swayed by the stories of women who had experienced fatal foetal abnormalities and how the Irish healthcare system treated them. That experience continues today. Women who welcome the pregnancies and want these children are being forced to travel and to bring back their baby's bodies in the boots of their cars. That is happening this week and we must address it.

We will continue to push for the full legislative changes that are required, that were recommended in the O'Shea report, and that will bring Ireland up to the level of care that we know women deserve in reproductive healthcare. I look forward to proposing amendments to this legislation that I know our party will support and I look forward to discussing on Committee Stage how we can proactively support that. As Deputy Rice has pointed out, it would be such a shame to expend all of our political capital addressing one isolated part of what we know is a comprehensive set of legislative gaps and make those women wait. I believe most of us in society connected with those women as part of this dialogue in recent years. We must help them to find the solutions they need.

Marie Sherlock (Dublin Central, Labour)
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I thank Deputy Cullinane and Sinn Féin for bringing forward the Bill. It addresses one part of the O'Shea report. I am disappointed that there is an element of cherry-picking from the O'Shea report. If we are accepting the bona fides of the report, we should be looking at all the issues it addressed. I express the Labour Party's disappointment with Sinn Féin that it is singling out one issue. It is, however, the one issue on which there seems to be greater political consensus compared with some of the other issues identified in the O'Shea report and in that spirit, I very much welcome the Bill.

I stand here a little bit frustrated that it has taken another Private Members' Bill to discuss this issue. As the Minister of State knows, the legislation committed to a three-year review. That took way longer than planned. The O'Shea report has been gathering dust in the Department of Health for three years. The Minister came into the Chamber a month ago to express her own personal position with regard to the part of the O'Shea report relating to the three-day wait. We are not going to be a lot further along after this debate in providing those assurances. It is now in the power of the Government to ensure we have speedy passage of this legislation, whether it is the Sinn Féin Bill or a Bill brought forward by the Government. The reality is that there are women out there looking on who have either recently found themselves in this circumstance or may over the coming months. We have had hours of debate in this House but very little progress. Even if this Bill does pass this evening, there is now an onus on the Government to expedite the legislation to ensure that we get rid of the three-day wait.

Back in 2018, I was extremely proud to be a part of the Dublin Central Together for Yes campaign. In fact, I will look back on it as one of the most unique and special campaigns I have ever been involved in, given the cross-party support at the time, and night after night, the message from the doorsteps to us was that we could not continue to export our problem, an Irish problem.

When two-thirds of voters cast their votes in support of repealing the eighth amendment back in 2018, I passionately believe they were not voting for 1,500 women to still have to go abroad to access a termination in the following years. In 2023, just one year, 240 women had to travel to England - and that is just England - to access a termination of pregnancy because they could not access it here because they timed out of the 12 weeks or because of the rules on fatal foetal abnormalities. The three-day wait plays an important part in delaying and blocking women's access to that necessary healthcare. There is absolutely zero clinical indication for the three-day wait period and it has to go. It is frankly demeaning and degrading to send a woman away who comes to request an abortion. I was struck by what Deputy Gibney said about her pregnancy more than 20 years ago. When women turn up to the doctor they know what they want. It is not a question of them having to be sent away to reflect. When women take the decision to approach a doctor to ask for a termination, they have already thought long and hard about it. It is frankly moralistic and paternalistic and a political fix, which was not proposed by the citizens' assembly or the special Oireachtas committee on abortion care. It was simply a political fix that was put in place to try to make the legislation more palatable, as opposed to it being the right thing to do.

There are women out there who, for a whole variety of reasons, fall outside the 12-week mark because of the logistics of the three days, because of trying to access their GP locally, because they are in domestic violence situations or because they have to take time away from work. I was struck by an email I received today from a woman in my constituency who thanked God that she had the luxury of being located close to a medical practitioner who could provide the service and thanked God she had the reality of a flexible working arrangement to be able to access that service. Many women in many parts of the country simply cannot. In particular, if there is a language barrier or a cultural issue with regards to accessing a GP, those issues are exacerbated.

I should note a pause was put on language interpretation services in our part of Dublin in recent months, which was frightening for many patients because that service is absolutely necessary for patients to be able to access healthcare in the way the Minister of State or I or any of the rest of us here can when we go to our doctors. Thankfully, it has now been restored, but the reality is they are the challenges and stumbling blocks women face when they go to their doctors. The three-day waiting period must go. It is simply paternalistic. The reality is that we have seen wait periods being removed in many other European countries. They are almost non-existent in most other European countries and Ireland needs to fall into line with that, because, as was said clearly in the O'Shea report and we know from talking to many doctors, there is no clinical indication for this.

On the Minister's comments on the legislation, I welcome the exploration of the issues. The cynic in me might say that we have not spent as much time talking about the issue of accessing GP care for the past 12 months as we did in the few minutes during the Minister of State's contribution. The logistical issues of clinical scheduling, patient flow, service demand and capacity are broader issues related to access to GP care. The reality is that in many parts of the country we have significant waiting lists for access to GPs. That is on the Government because of its failure to ensure there is a fair and even distribution of GPs across the country. In my constituency, in Cabra there is one GP to every 3,000 people and in the north inner city there is one GP to every 3,500. In other areas, it is one GP to 1,500 people. There is a huge inequity of access. It is not just for women who are trying to access termination of pregnancy. Many people are affected by the systemic shortage of GPs across the country.

I have already said this legislation should be expedited - this legislation or the Government's legislation - after tomorrow night, when I hope it will pass. I implore all TDs on the Government benches to do the right thing, not to pass judgment on women but make sure they afford women the opportunity to do the thing that is best for them, their families and their bodies and not to pass judgment about what is right or wrong.

I cannot let the occasion pass without talking about fatal foetal abnormalities, because I passionately believe that has to be part of the conversation. Unfortunately, it is not part of this legislation, but it is hugely important to the Labour Party. There are serious questions about the clinical indication with regard to the 28 days. Neonatologists and obstetricians talk about the extreme difficulty of being able to predict with any great certainty, with regard to fatal foetal abnormalities, whether a baby will pass away within the 28-day limit. The Labour Party believes the 28-day limit has to be reviewed. I listened to a woman named Holly on Cork's 96 FM this morning who spoke eloquently and bravely about the loss of her daughter Hazel. She had been yearning for a baby, but the reality was when she was 14 weeks pregnant, there was a realisation that there was a fatal foetal abnormality. As there could not be certainty about whether it would happen within 28 days, she felt she had to travel. There will be many other families who want to stay the course and give birth to that baby in this country, but others will not. Again, this is about trusting women. If we are to take the key message from the 2018 referendum to repeal the eighth amendment, it is about trusting women and, crucially, trusting doctors. Again, our legislation is not built to trust doctors with how it seeks to criminalise and suppress those making decisions and the rigid definition of fatal foetal abnormalities.

This has been a long time coming. We should not be here in 2026, eight years after the referendum and five years after the review should have been completed, still talking about just one part of the updating of our termination of pregnancy legislation. Eliminating the three-day wait needs to be the simple part of the conversation. My appeal to the Minister of State is for the Government to back this proposal tomorrow night - not just have a free vote - and give a firm and clear commitment it will progress the abolition of the three-day wait as speedily as possible, ideally before we rise for the recess, because there will be women who will be affected by our lack of action in the Dáil over the summer and into the winter months.

Séamus Healy (Tipperary South, Independent)
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I welcome and support this Bill. In December 2018, the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Bill was signed into law. Section 7 of the Act provided that a review of the operation of the Act be carried out. That review was included to facilitate monitoring of the operation of the legislation in practice as well as of the delivery of services. A public consultation commenced in December 2021 and concluded in April 2022. Submissions to the consultation were accepted in several formats, including online, by email and by post. Almost 7,000 submissions were received and reviewed and the review found that, while the vast majority of early-stage terminations were accessed smoothly, significant structural and legislative barriers remained, including the three-day wait rule addressed by this proposed legislation. The report recommended the removal of the mandatory three-day wait, stating it delays time-sensitive healthcare and is demeaning to patients. As these services are not operated 365 days per year, the three-day wait can extend to four or five days, particularly if the first visit is towards the end of a week and if there are public holidays.

The mandatory three-day wait may cause women to time out of eligibility for care in Ireland as well. The review was also subject of a report by the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health and the committee supported the package of measures recommended by the review and stated work should be advanced to give effect to the recommendations without any delay. It recommended the Minister for Health should bring forward appropriate proposals as a matter of priority.

Access to GP services seriously impinges on this issue, especially for women in rural areas. It is increasingly the case GPs are not accepting new patients and GP appointments can be delayed for a week or more. This issue affects rural areas and areas of deprivation most. The statistics from the WHO show we are seriously under-resourced when it comes to GPs. The norm is one GP to 1,000 people but our figure is one GP to 1,759 people and can be as high as one per 3,500 people in some areas. A survey in 2024 found two thirds of GPs in rural Ireland could not accept new patients. This gives rise to a clear urban-rural divide, with rural women being disadvantaged. I support the Bill.

Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Solidarity)
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It is absolutely terrible that women and anybody who can become pregnant have had to wait eight years for this to happen. There has been no Government Bill and no Opposition party one up to now either. It is a crying shame that people have had to endure this.

The O'Shea report made it very clear, especially about the three-day wait. I hate that term. It should be called a second doctor visit or something because people get the erroneous impression it just adds three days to the wait. However, particularly if an appointment is at the end of the week, if you have been trying to make a GP appointment for over a week then in most cases you will be waiting a week or two and in surveys that have been done a quarter of the women interviewed were waiting more than three days for the second visit. This especially affects the marginalised, rural women, anyone who is a victim of domestic violence, people in homeless accommodation and people who not have public or car transport. The poorest in society always pay the price. Unnecessary delays just add barriers for women.

There were other recommendations in the O'Shea report, such as that medical reasons be looked at again. I put on record that there is no other country where there is a distinction made between fatal and severe abnormality. It was only done in Ireland on the Oireachtas committee to avoid a debate about disability in the repeal referendum. Now people are suffering because of that. Imagine babies' bodies are still being transported in the backs of cars, as was testified only recently on the radio. There were also recommendations on safe access zones and where conscientious objection blocks any provision in an area. In the corridor here today I heard two men discussing women's healthcare, as if we need more of that in this country. They made the claim there are 10,000 children alive because of the second visit. It is put out by people who seem to submit AI parliamentary questions or whatever. I have never seen anything to back that up. The IFPA has said 98% of women go ahead. I also want to make something clear. From talking to Women on Web when abortion was illegal and we were trying to help people access it safely, that group made the point that sometimes when women received the pills online they did not go ahead because they could clearly make that decision without pressure and stress, so that is not an excuse for being patronising towards women.

I obviously welcome that Sinn Féin has put a Bill on abortion before the House, I think for the first time. I had a Bill on this I proposed on First Stage in January but I did not have the Private Members' time, so I am obviously glad for parties with more time to put these measures, but we cannot ignore the timing and the context here. A couple of weeks ago we were here with a Bill which had very important things about decriminalisation, things that the health spokesperson for Sinn Féin supported in 2021, because I found statements on it. There is backtracking going on and this was cover, but I am glad there is a Bill being put because I wanted to put such a Bill and I am delighted somebody else is doing it.

It is also important not to rewrite history. Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael did not win repeal. It was a grassroots movement that won repeal. There are people claiming here all the things they did for repeal. It is a bit like the GPO in 1916 and all that. Not everyone was there and some parties did not support this in the committee. In some parties no TDs supported it. It is very easy to jump on when everybody agrees. It is not easy when you are pioneering repeal Bills. When I put the first repeal Bill 11 TDs voted for it. Let us have progress but let this not be a cover for backtracking on essential women's rights. We need to go forward and fight the tide that is pushing back against people's right to bodily autonomy. We have seen the religious right and far right in the US take away abortion rights and we cannot allow this to happen in Ireland.

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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I am pleased to be able to support this Bill on behalf of the Green Party. We were proud to campaign in support of repeal in 2018. During that campaign we worked with activists from all parties and none to share that central argument that Ireland needed to listen to women and to empower them to make their own decisions about their own bodies. The people responded to that argument and responded with compassion, especially to the stories that were shared throughout that campaign. Collectively we worked to bring a really historic change in our country.

That work is not yet complete and we need to continue to listen to women and to respect their right to choose on all aspects relating to their healthcare. I reaffirm the term "healthcare" because the three-day waiting period was not introduced as a health measure but as a political consideration and we know it is not something required by principles of care or good clinical practice. The World Health Organization said very clearly these waiting periods are unnecessary and of course the O’Shea report recommended its removal.

In speaking on this Bill I should acknowledge that just a couple of weeks ago I was speaking in favour of legislation that also sought to remove the three-day waiting period and in addition sought to address other issues that were highlighted in the O’Shea report. While this Bill is more narrow in its scope than I would prefer, it is important not to let perfection be the enemy of good and to recognise the removal of the three-day wait is in itself a positive step. I am hopeful that, should this Bill go to Committee Stage, we will be able to look again at the other elements of the O’Shea report and indeed add elements to this Bill via amendments, especially to do with the issue of fatal foetal abnormalities. The current law in that area creates deeply traumatic circumstances that can put women and families in incredibly difficult situations. Those issues are not addressed in tonight’s Bill and I will look to bring forward or support amendments if this Bill moves through the House, which I hope it does. I will look to support amendments that would address the issue of fatal foetal abnormalities.

The referendum campaign in 2018 was one by a coalition the repeal campaign forged and it was a prime example of the kind of progressive co-operation we can see across political parties and with people who had no prior political involvement. I hope on this particular matter we will see this co-operation extend to the Government benches as well. I welcome that a free vote is being permitted on this and that the Taoiseach has indicated he is going to be supportive, but we need that firm commitment from Government and in particular from the Minister for Health that if there is a positive vote on this Bill on Second Stage we will see the Government engage seriously with this legislation and with the central issue of the removal of the three-day wait.

The Government can demonstrate its seriousness by making sure this Bill is rapidly tabled on Committee Stage. In 2023, the rallying cry of the repeal campaign was "Women Won't Wait". Women should not have to wait in 2026. We have the opportunity now to continue the work begun in 2018 and to remove a condescending and paternalistic approach to an already difficult decision that many women in Ireland have to make.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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Last year there were 10,852 abortions in Ireland. The lives of 10,852 living human beings were ended last year as a result of the legislation that was passed a number of years ago. It is the highest figure on record. It is equivalent to 400 classrooms of children who are no longer with us as a result of that abortion law. It is absolutely heartbreaking. In all the politicking we see in this Chamber today on this issue, there is absolutely no recognition of the human cost or of the human devastation of thousands of lives lost annually. In 2018 there were 2,879 abortions and since that law was deregulated the number has surged. It has tripled in just seven years and yet there is no effort by the political establishment to understand why there is such a surge. There is no effort to ameliorate this awful human cost.

So high is the abortion rate today that it is affecting the birth rate. It is not the only reason the birth rate is falling; the cost-of-living crisis, the housing crisis and the cost of childcare are all pushing down the birth rate, but you cannot have 10,852 abortions annually without impacting on the birth rate of a country. In 2009, there were 77,000 children born in Ireland; 54,000 were born in 2024. That is a startling collapse in the birth rate.

The really shocking thing is that the lack of housing, the cost of living and the cost of childcare are not more to the fore in Sinn Féin's approach to this Dáil. Dozens of women gave birth last year while homeless. Thousands of couples are postponing having children or not having children at all, not because they do not want a family but because the policies of the Government make it so difficult for them to have one. What is the response of the political establishment? Three separate abortion Bills this year and it is only June.

Sinn Féin experienced a collapse in support in recent years. It has become confused about where it stands in the political spectrum and is flip-flopping on a number of core values. This Bill is its effort to readjust itself in the political spectrum. It is more about political competition than about making an effort to deal with the bread-and-butter challenges families face. I say that because it is not based on evidence. Abortion is a massive decision and is irreversible. A child cannot be brought back after an abortion. It can lead to a lifetime of regret for mothers. For any big decision, a time of reflection is key. There are few elective procedures that can be done on the same day. You cannot have a mole removed, have cosmetic surgery or be sterilised without a period to wait and reflect.

We know the three-day wait is working. How do we know this? This is key - it is because 10,000 mothers who attended their first abortion meeting simply did not attend the second. There are 10,000 children alive today as a result of the three-day wait.

When the abortion review was discussed at the health committee, I asked the chair of the review a direct and important question: before recommending abolishing the three-day wait, had she spoken to one woman who went to the first abortion appointment, took three days to reflect, changed her mind and kept her baby? She admitted on the record of the committee she did not speak to one woman who availed of a three-day wait - an incredible admission. The Government report recommended a change in the law to get rid of the last remaining protection and nobody who authored that report sought to speak to one mother who availed of that reflection period. No author of the report took the time to speak to one of the thousands of children alive today and ask their view of the reflection period. There are thousands of children alive, some sitting around family tables, some playing in their gardens or simply laughing to cartoons on television, as a result of this law, yet it is Sinn Féin's objective to get rid of it. It is an incredible situation. Have members of the Sinn Féin front bench spoken to any of these mothers or children?

I received an email today. I am sure the other Deputies got it too. It is one of many I have received on this issue. It concerned an individual who accompanied her friend to an abortion appointment in 2022. Her friend, who had just found out she was pregnant, was adamant she wanted an abortion and very likely would have taken an abortion pill then and there if it was offered to her. By the time the three-day wait had elapsed, she had changed her mind, having received support from her friends and got over the initial shock of being pregnant. Today, according to that email, the woman often remarks that she cannot imagine her life without her son. The person sending the email questioned why Sinn Féin was pushing for the three-day wait to be abolished and why it was doing it without consulting the people it had affected.

Listening to local and national news stations, I can tell many people are disappointed with Sinn Féin using its chance to speak today not to tackle the cost-of-living crisis or the cost-of-childcare crisis but to push for more abortions. There is no desire for this change; it is not being raised at the doors. There are no petitions, protests or email campaigns. In fact, it is the opposite - many people are shocked and angry. It is no wonder they are shocked and angry because they were lied to right through the political debate.

Simon Harris said in an interview in The Times in 2018 that the proposed legislation would allow women to access care on consultation with their doctor for up to 12 weeks only. He stated: "In this case, a three-day pause would be in place for women to access all information and counselling and make a considered decision.” That is what the leader of the Minister of State's party said. Simon Harris could see in 2018 there was a need for a woman to access information and counselling ahead of a life-changing decision, one we all recognise has a heavy physical and mental weight. The Tánaiste knew this pause was required to make a considered decision that was irreversible. Why is the Tánaiste now removing that considered decision? What happens when any of us is rushed, during a crisis situation, into an ill-considered and irreversible decision? Simon Harris also said three days must elapse between certification and the procedure being carried out, that this provision was not unusual and that several countries in Europe, including Belgium and Germany, had similar provisions. That is the leader of the Minister of State's political party.

The Taoiseach, from Fianna Fáil, said clear commitments were given during that campaign for a framework for the facilitation of this. As we went door to door, we spoke of the framework for the referendum and the three-day wait period. When you have a referendum, it is necessary to fulfil those commitments. The two leaders of the Government are supporting this. I am not particularly surprised we have a flip-flop from Simon Harris, or even Micheál Martin, on this - two TDs on the record as stating in this Chamber they fully recognise an unborn child is a living human being. When the media and political winds changed, they voted for abortion. A simple case of "These are my principles and if you don't like them, I have others". Many people, including a large number who voted for repeal, are disgusted at being duped by the political establishment in relation to this.

It will be interesting to see how the vote is carried out. Tomorrow there will be a free vote in Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and maybe some of the other parties. Sinn Féin will not have a free vote on this - probably the only mainstream political party in western Europe and north America to enforce a whip on this issue. There are TDs in Sinn Féin today who are against this and they will have to vote against their conscience, their better judgment and the evidence if they want to remain in that party. I believe that is wrong. Those individuals should have the opportunity to vote in the direction they want to.

The right to life is a human right. It is the most important human right we have. No other right - the right to free speech, the right to assemble - can be guaranteed without the right to life. If you take the right to life off any human being, that is a major challenge to all the rest of their human rights.

The definition of a human right is that it is universal. It applies to all humans and if an unborn child is not a human being, what species is the unborn child?

It is really important that we have a time for reflection ourselves in Leinster House. We have to remember, first of all, what we need to do in relation to giving mothers across this country the economic confidence to be able to raise their families. We have to look at the evidence of this committee, a committee that completely ignored the 10,000 women who did not attend the second abortion meeting and the thousands of children who are alive today as a result of it. We also have to look to the clear commitment that was made right across this Chamber in relation to that legislation and ask ourselves is this what we are saying to the people of Ireland - "Vote for this and in a few years, we will radically change it." I would implore any of the TDs opposite, who have a free vote and who can exercise their judgment on this issue, to make sure that one of the last protections that exists in this State in terms of the most vulnerable is protected.

Carol Nolan (Offaly, Independent)
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There are moments in this Chamber when the sheer disconnect between political rhetoric and the political reality becomes almost unbearable. If Sinn Féin truly wants to build a future worth having, it should start by protecting the children who are meant to inherit it because while Sinn Féin tours the country promoting its future of Ireland commission report, which is full of language about hope, opportunity and the next generation, the very same party is here assisting in the passage of laws that guarantee no future at all for thousands of Irish babies in the womb.

You cannot speak about building a shared future while simultaneously dismantling the last remaining safeguard that has already saved up to 10,000 lives and Sinn Féin knows this. The data is not mine; it is the HSE's own data provided to me through parliamentary questions. That data shows that thousands of women do not return after the three-day period. That is proof - proof that the waiting period gives women time, space and the chance to reconsider under pressure, coercion or crisis.

What is truly staggering is the moral incoherence of a party that claims to care about Ireland's future while actively working to ensure that thousands of Irish children will never have one. Sinn Féin wants to talk about unity, about nationhood, about the Ireland of tomorrow but how can you speak about tomorrow when you refuse to protect the children who would live in it today? How can you speak about sovereignty when you will not even defend the sovereignty of the most basic human right - the right to life?

The three-day period is one of the few remaining commitments that voters were told explicitly would be part of the 2018 framework and Sinn Féin's attempt to erase it shows how out of touch they have become with the values of ordinary people. I have received hundreds of emails asking TDs to vote "No" from all around the country.

Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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"Safe, legal and rare" was the line in 2018. HSE data shows that between 2019 and 2024, 10,426 women who attended an abortion appointment did not return after the three-day cooling-off and waiting period. That proves that those ladies took time to reflect and made a different decision to what they might have made if they did not have the cooling-off period. The waiting period was presented as an important safeguard within the legislation.

There are close to 11,000 abortions taking place in Ireland every year. Over 60,000 abortions have happened since the law changed in 2019. Abortion now ends the lives of one in every six babies in Ireland. This, in my opinion, is a national tragedy.

I respect that people hold different views on abortion and they are perfectly entitled to their views but the question is whether politicians should now remove safeguards that formed part of the framework presented to the public in the first instance. I believe that what is happening now is blatantly wrong.

Why is there such a rush to dismantle a measure that was presented to voters as part of the balance in the legislation? It does not make sense. What it proves is that what was presented and what was sold to the public at the time by the politicians who were supporting the introduction of this change in the legislation is now being twisted and turned into something different and the safeguard is being removed. That is wrong. I respect everybody's right to hold the opinion that they have on this very important issue but I believe what is happening here is blatantly wrong and I completely disagree with it.

Barry Heneghan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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Gabhaim buíochas le gach duine a labhair faoin ábhar tábhachtach seo. I welcome the Bill and I thank Sinn Féin for bringing it forward. I voted recently with the Social Democrats on its Bill. I suppose when it comes to anything what I always do is ask for advice from my team, my family, my sisters and my mother. I stood up in the Chamber and made a very clear point as to why the three-day wait should be abolished, particularly for a fatal foetal abnormality. I meant every word I said then and I still do. The main issue for me is whether we trust women. That is still the question and the answer for me is still "Yes".

I recognise that Sinn Féin has taken a different approach. I respect everyone's opinions. I will set that aside. The legislation is for the women it is meant to serve and I commend Sinn Féin on that. I would disagree fundamentally with an Teachta Tóibín. I wonder whether his party giving a free vote on this issue.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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There is no need. The TDs are on the same side.

Barry Heneghan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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Lovely.

The O'Shea report spoke about what was given to it. Three years on, women are still living with it. I would like to say to all the women across Dublin Bay North who financially would not be able to go the UK or to have an alternative means for abortion that we will be standing with them. We hear them. I spoke to a lot of these women at the doors. I represent Dublin Bay North. We had over 500 campaigners and it was the largest "Yes" turnout in the country. Those voters were promised change. They were not promised a review that would sit on a shelf. I welcome the engagement so far with my office on this. Removing the waiting period improves access for women and it will end the postcode lottery.

Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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I am glad to get the opportunity to talk on this. I cannot support Sinn Féin's Bill nor did I support the Social Democrats a week or so ago. It is my firm belief that the birth of a child is a wonder. It is better than anything. The child is entitled to the right to life, like we got a chance at it.

On this three-day wait, it surely is not much to have to wait when the birth of a child is at stake - a human being who has a right, once they are conceived, to be born and to live. Three days more cannot be that much and it could save the life of the child, and it has done so. A girl or a woman should get a few more hours to reflect on it and to look at options other than destroying the life of a little baby, a boy or a girl. No one knows or could imagine how much they would contribute to the world and to their families and the difference they could make. Too often, I see couples who fail to have children. Would it not be nice if they could adopt a child if the mother does not want to hold onto it?

I cannot vote for this Bill. I could never consider doing so.

James Geoghegan (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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I come to this debate as someone who voted to repeal the eighth amendment and is respectful of the freedom of conscience vote for Members of the parties of government but also with a clear sense of our obligations as legislators in a representative democracy. Section 7 of the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018, the Act this Private Members' Bill proposes to amend, statutorily required a full review of its operation three years after its commencement date of 1 January 2019. That review was commissioned by the then Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly. It was initiated at the end of 2021 and carried out by Ms Marie O'Shea BL.

Drawing on extensive evidence, including 58 service user interviews, 43 provider interviews, 188 GP survey responses and 6,976 public submissions, the report was published in April 2023. It was unequivocal in its finding that there is no clinical basis for a mandatory three-day wait. The report went on to identify as an unforeseen practical consequence of the three-day rule that women are timing out of care, particularly when scans, referrals, weekends or bank holidays intervene. The report, which is now three years out of date, cites how many women already face delays before presenting, whether due to miscalculating gestational age, work and family pressures, financial constraints, language and cultural barriers or domestic abuse. The mandatory wait compounds those delays and can push women over the 12-week limit.

Perhaps the most important finding was that clinicians told the review that their training enables them, as it would in every clinical care setting, to identify uncertainty or coercion and to advise additional time where the clinician deems it appropriate to do so. They noted that they would continue to that even in the absence of a State-imposed three-day rule, which is a blunt instrument and is against best practice, including WHO best practice. In simple terms, we should trust our doctors and we should trust women. It is for those reasons that I will be voting in favour of removing the three-day wait and in favour of this Bill advancing to Committee Stage to enable an up-to-date examination of the impact of the rule three years on from the O'Shea report.

Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to respond to this debate on behalf of my friend and colleague, the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill. I sincerely thank all who contributed, both those who I agree with and, in particular, those with whom I do not agree. For the entirety of my life, disagreement on this issue has sometimes led to the worst scenes in politics, where party politics, personal ambition and personal focus from across the spectrum have, unfortunately, really diminished the level of debate and taken the political discourse into a place where the heart of the issue we are talking about has been moved into the abstract. It is a vitally important development that we are able, in 2026, to have what I would say has been a relatively civil and constructive debate in this Chamber in which we disagree with each other agreeably and respect fundamentally the right of all Deputies in the House to have their own personal or political party opinion and their own approach to this issue.

The Government is absolutely committed to ensuring there is safe and equitable access to termination of pregnancy services. In that respect, it is worth acknowledging the substantial progress that has been made to date. Termination services in early pregnancy are now provided in all 19 maternity hospitals. There also has been a sustained increase in community providers, with their number currently standing at 492. The revised model of care introduced in response to the Covid pandemic is now approved as the enduring model of care. Under that blended approach, it is possible for one of the two consultations required for termination in early pregnancy to take place remotely. As outlined earlier by the Minister of State, Deputy Higgins, this alleviates some of the difficulty that may be associated with the mandatory three-day waiting period in that it reduces the time and expense involved in travelling to the doctor's surgery twice. It also improves access for many women and addresses geographical and logistical barriers. Safe access zones legislation came into effect on 17 October 2024 under the Health (Termination of Pregnancy Services) (Safe Access Zones) Act. The cumulative effect of all these measures is to substantially reduce barriers and increase access to services for those who need them. The feedback received directly from clinicians indicates that the service is working well. This is particularly significant if we take account of the fact it is a relatively new service that has been built up from the ground.

There is a broad range of sincerely held and articulately expressed views on termination of pregnancy and the removal of the three-day wait. In the interests of being helpful, I will briefly address some of the points raised while I have been in the Chamber. The Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, will, of course, continue to engage with Deputies from across the House on this issue. Deputies Sherlock and O'Gorman called for wider political co-operation to expedite the progress of the legislation. It is my understanding that the Minister has engaged in an element of consultation with the service providers and with politicians of all shades. She will continue that. The vote on this Bill tomorrow evening will decide at what rate that proceeds. This is not a straightforward process. Regardless of where people stand on the issue, we all know that any legislation that comes from this may be quite different from what we now envisage. It must be implemented in a practical way.

Deputy Coppinger made clear her view that the full recommendations of the O'Shea report should be put in place. There is a multitude of recommendations, as has been detailed in some depth from a legal point of view by Deputy Geoghegan. All of those recommendations are being taken on their merit. I understand why there is some frustration.

On Deputy Tóibín's point, I say sincerely that I have no interest in engaging in any politicking on this matter. I do not want this to become a political debate about the substance of the issue, regardless of people's stance on it and their deeply held personal convictions. We can all agree that the views expressed are all deeply personally held convictions. A person's stance on this issue is not one to which any of us has come lightly. It is my fundamental belief that what we voted on in 2018 - I campaigned on one side and some of the Deputies here campaigned on the other side; that is politics - was the decision to repeal the eighth amendment from our Constitution and to provide for termination of pregnancy services as a legislative matter. That is the core issue on which we voted. There were many other aspects of the campaign and I completely take Deputy Tóibín's points in that regard and those eloquently made by Deputies Nolan and Michael Healy-Rae. Fundamentally, however, the decision was taken by the Irish people to empower the democratically elected Members of the Oireachtas to legislate on these matters, as is done in jurisdictions around the world.

That was the fundamental decision and it is the basis on which we approach the debate this evening. The Government will not oppose the legislation because it has declared a conscience vote for Deputies from both parties in government and the group of Independent Deputies who support it. In that context, it is important to set out my own personal view. I would have been supportive of the Bill introduced a couple of weeks ago by the Social Democrats. I was the sole Fine Gael Member to vote for the Bill brought forward by People Before Profit in the previous Dáil. I am absolutely consistent on this and, as such, I am supportive of the Bill before us and very grateful to the Sinn Féin Party for putting it forward. That is not the case for some other members of my party and some others of my fellow party TDs. They are empowered to make a decision on the Bill in their own right.

As Deputy Coppinger rightly said, the proposals in this Bill were brought about by a grassroots campaign. I know what it was like to be the sole Fine Gael Member who voted for legislation on this issue in the previous Dáil. In 2014, in a local authority vote, the three people who voted in favour were the two People Before Profit councillors and me. There is a divergence of views on this issue that does not align with a narrow political division. We must respect that people reflect on it deeply and come at it from a very personal point of view.

Last night, I had the distinct honour of addressing the annual general conference of the International Planned Parenthood Federation, which was held in Dublin. An event like that being held here would have been completely unthinkable not so long ago. The people gathered came from more than 100 different countries around the world where they have seen clear legislative backsliding, not just in areas like this but more generally when it comes to gender equality, the rights of women and the rights of minorities, including those of minority faiths. They see real political and administrative pressure being put on their livelihoods. They came to Dublin because they know it is a safe place to have their conference and have a discussion, where people can disagree with them but not persecute them. I am delighted the Government is now in a position to support the federation. I signed off last night on a doubling of our funding to it.

That is something I will continue to do in my work as Minister of State with responsibility for international development in a situation where an arbitrary culture war being waged somewhere else has seen maternal health in the poorest countries in the world drop to some of the worst levels seen. We are living in a time when HIV-AIDS infection rates, after 25 years of reducing, are now rising again. That is fundamentally due to political decisions. AIDS rates are going up, malaria rates are going up and the level of infant mortality is rising because of political decisions. It is in the context of my work in international development that I want to ensure Ireland continues to be a safe and progressive place to be a woman, first and foremost, and everything that goes with that. The strides made by us in our constitutional decisions in recent years are something that go above and beyond politics. The tenor of those debates, going back to the citizens' assembly, the debates in the Seanad and at the eighth amendment committee, chaired by my dear friend and then Seanad colleague, Catherine Noone, were reflective of a better Ireland than the Ireland that voted when I was an infant in my mum's arms to insert the eighth amendment into the Constitution.

Regardless of what everyone feels about the issue, and I fundamentally respect that, they were not good debates and not good politics. It created a system of othering that none of us can stand over, whether we believe in the decision to legislatively pursue removing the three-day wait or not. From a deeply personal point of view, this legislation is welcome and I will, of course, support it but I think we all know - those of us who believe in this - that we can do more and we have a responsibility to do more. That will not come from a party-political decision, and there will be opposition to that which is healthy and democratic.

The Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, has stated she will also support this legislation, as will the Taoiseach and Tánaiste. The decision taken by any other Member on the Government benches, whether they are a ministerial officeholder or other, is for them. I have laid out my very clear opinion, which I think can be respected by the Chamber, and we can continue this debate. If it is to be passed tomorrow night, and I sincerely hope it is passed by a majority in this Chamber, we can progress a legislative debate in the manner we have been able to achieve - a debate, I believe, on the most sensitive of topics on this island, carried out in a way that does not drag in unnecessary comparisons and which does not provide a campaigning platform for attack and negativity. At the end of the day, somewhere around the country at this moment is a 14- or 15-year-old girl who has been raped and is being faced with a very serious decision. She does not need politicians, particularly male politicians, using her as a political football. My appeal to the Chamber, whatever one's conscience is - and I respect it - is to please debate as if that young person is watching.

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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Hear, hear.

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South-Central, Sinn Fein)
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Tacaím leis an mBille agus tréaslaím leis an Teachta Cullinane as é seo a thabhairt chun cinn. Is Bille tábhachtach é agus tá sé riachtanach. Tá sé ciallmhar. This is an important legislative change. At the end of the day, and as far as I can see it, we are talking about a three-day wait for women to be able to access essential healthcare. Fundamentally, that is what this is about. It was never necessary in the context of the repeal of the eighth amendment and it is one of the strongest recommendations of the O'Shea report.

The testimony brought forward by many women is that the three-day wait has created immense difficulties, particularly for women who are coming from a background where they are experiencing coercive control or domestic violence, where attending even one appointment is an enormous challenge, much less trying to return again within that period. Ultimately, it has a significant impact on their ability to make the right decisions for them. People have talked about consideration. This does not abolish consideration; this abolishes a mandatory requirement and constraint on women who are very clear on what is necessary for them and what is necessary for their needs and healthcare. It does not abolish consideration, and it does not mean people cannot make their own decisions and give their own thoughts on that.

I would also make the point that in the review of the legislation, the O'Shea report asked the Oireachtas to consider other matters, including fatal foetal abnormalities. It asked that an expert panel be established to examine those issues and advise the Oireachtas accordingly. That is important and should proceed. People have talked about the human cost. There is a profound human cost for parents and for women who have no choice but to travel because of the situation they are in. The Oireachtas needs to address that and an expert panel needs to be established in that regard.

The three-day wait period is unnecessary, it is wrong and it is causing profound hardship, particularly for vulnerable women in difficult situations. I welcome this Bill and the fact many Members of Government intend to support it.

Thomas Gould (Cork North-Central, Sinn Fein)
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I am standing here as a man, and to be honest, I cannot imagine a situation where I would be told by my doctor to go away to have a think about things and come back in three days. It is just wrong, it does not make sense and it is not right. Why would anyone be told, when it is a health issue, to go away and think about it? How patronising is that?

This legislation is about protecting women, helping them at a very difficult time and giving them all the support we can. I am a father of two daughters - two brilliant girls. One is a teenager and the older girl is 20-years old. They are kind and intelligent. I trust them, I trust their friends and I trust their peers. I trust women to make their own decisions. Why am I getting involved in their healthcare? I will be there to support them and to be with them but at the end of the day, this is their decision and that is what we must respect - women's decisions.

I think about Ann Lovett, who died 42 years ago in a grotto. I think about Sheila Hodgers, who left two children behind her. I think of Savita Halappanavar, who would have turned 44 years of age this year. So many other stories over the decades were brushed under the carpet and that we never knew about but some people know - maybe their families or friends know. Those women who had tragic deaths, and all those tragic stories, are why we are here this evening to support this legislation.

I thank the Taoiseach, Tánaiste, the Minister for Health and the Minister of State for coming along with us. I know not everyone can come with us because some people oppose it but I ask everyone to respect the debate and process because at the end of the day, this is about women's healthcare and trusting women to do the right thing. I want to send a clear message: this is above politics, politicians and above me as a man. This is about women being respected and being given the support and the trust we should all have in them.

Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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When the Irish people voted to repeal the eighth amendment, they voted to trust women and to trust the decisions they made about their own healthcare, their own bodies and their own lives. However, they also trusted legislators. They trusted them to listen to that O'Shea review when it came through and to act on the decisions or recommendations that came out of it. Ultimately, when repeal happened, it put the ball firmly in the court of this House. It is now up to us to do what is right, and it is right to remove the three-day limit. I did not agree with it at the time and I certainly do not agree with it now because we know this is more than just an inconvenience. For some women, this has some very real consequences. For women living with intimate partner abuse and domestic violence, those three days, each and every one of them, is another barrier to healthcare. For survivors of rape or sexual assault, being forced to navigate an unnecessary delay adds further trauma to an already devastating experience. The Minister of State spoke of a 14-year-old, and I agree with him. We never need to see another case like we have in the past.

We also know there still remains, to some degree, limited levels of services, and obtaining a GP appointment can be very difficult in some areas. For those women who discover their pregnancy later than expected, these three days can mean the difference between accessing healthcare here or being forced to travel abroad, and that causes distress. It has pushed women beyond the legal time limits for care in their own country. That is not what repeal intended to do. It is certainly not what I campaigned or voted for.

To be clear, there will always be the option for a woman to wait. It will always be there but it will be her choice whether it is one day, two days or three days; it will not be mandatory and will not be set down arbitrarily in legislation. This Bill recognises every woman's situation is different, and that decisions about healthcare are best made by the women themselves, supported by their doctors and not dictated to. If we want to get to a compassionate healthcare system, we must remove barriers, not reinforce and create them. Removing this three-day waiting period brings us that little step closer to a healthcare system that respects dignity, autonomy and access to timely care.

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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Compassion and respect has always underpinned my approach to this issue. Like the Minister of State, I campaigned for repeal. I knocked on doors and I argued, debated, listened, agreed and disagreed.

In fact, some of the best exchanges I had were with people I disagreed with because they sharpened my awareness of the complexity of this issue and the fact that people come at it differently. At every single door I knocked on where I disagreed, I respected the opinion of the person who made an alternative argument. At the end of the day, the people voted in overwhelming numbers for change and for abortion services in certain circumstances. In that spirit, I have to say that some of the claims made today by some TDs in this Chamber are just factually wrong. Some people say that the HSE data indicate that 10,000 children are alive today because of the three-day wait. That is simply not fact and simply not the case. Nowhere in any publication or in any parliamentary question response does it say it that. There are conflation of data and a misunderstanding of actually what the HSE was saying. People know that and it needs to be put on the record.

Equally, I want to deal with the other issues that people raised suggesting that this legislation does not go far enough and that there are other recommendations in the review, as there were. One of those was on the grounds of fatal foetal abnormalities. Actually, the author of the independent report recommended that there would be an expert-led stakeholder review of that particular issue to look at the wording and to come back with recommendations for legislators. I believe that whatever changes we make have to be right. There cannot be any unintended consequences which is why I am grateful that the Minister and the Government are making resources available for me to be able to perfect the Bill which is before us. I believe it will pass and if it does pass, I want to make sure that it goes to Committee Stage and ultimately passes. I agree that other issues have to be dealt with. I ask the Minister for Health to set up that review panel to look at those other issues, make recommendations and then let us evaluate them on their merits with the independent data that we have.

I thank all Deputies who have spoken with respect and in the spirit of co-operation, listening and engaging. I respect all the different opinions which have been raised and I will ignore all the political charges that were made against my party and will not respond to them because I think this is about moving forward and making sure that what we voted for is what women get. For me that is the most important part of this legislation and this debate.

Paula Butterly (Louth, Fine Gael)
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In accordance with Standing Order 85(2), the division is postponed until the weekly division time on Wednesday, 17 June 2026.