Catherine Noone (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am aware of much of what the Minister of State has said. I just wish to emphasise again the urgency of this matter. The country in which we live has made huge progress in recent years. We should all be very grateful for that but it is not that long ago that a woman needed a man's consent to get contraception in this country. It is not that long ago that it was illegal. It was only legalised in 1979 and then only in restricted circumstances where a person was married. We have come a long way but, if we are to be a progressive society, termination services cannot be freely available to women while contraceptive services are not. This is about gender equality. I want to live a country in which women are empowered in this area. I hope the Minister will hear from his working group in the middle of September rather than at the end. We know the information. The Minister has indicated that he wants his policy to follow along these lines. There is political momentum at the moment and I do not want it to be lost. I hope this will be included in the budget with a plan for implementation from next January. I thank the Minister of State for his response.