Rónán Mullen (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I would be very happy to have a debate on this issue at this point, given that we have had the clamour from the Government and supporters of abortion to have legislation. The Minister, rightly, disclosed to us the Garda Commissioner's clear advice that the proposed zones are not necessary. The Minister, nonetheless, clings to the view that he still wants to legislate. What is also interesting was that he told us he had not received legal advice that he could not do so. I had to put it to him, as opposed to the Minister acknowledging, that there is a considerable body of European convention and European Court of Human Rights jurisprudence which would very much defend freedom of expression, in particular, peaceful freedom of expression. I also drew his attention to the fact that the precedent of the case of Open Door Counselling and Dublin Well Woman, in 1993, may well incidentally protect women where they might feel conflicted, pressurised, harassed or rushed to approach an abortion, and that they would have a right to receive information that might be peacefully and respectfully on offer.I am sorry to say that while the Minister proposes to talk to gardaí and abortion providers, he refused, when I asked him to do so, to commit to talk to people who advocate best practice in terms of peaceful witnessing to positive alternatives to abortion. I held a briefing to which everybody here was invited some months ago, where we heard from Alina Dulgheriu from the Be Here For Me organisation. She told how when she approached an abortion facility in Britain she only wanted somebody to tell her that she could cope. She did meet such a person in the context of a peaceful witness to positive alternatives to abortion.