Annie Hoey (Labour) | Oireachtas source

It is a grassroots organisation of activists who have spent their weekends, evenings and even break times in their work day to promote this issue. The organisation published a very comprehensive Bill and lobbied us all in advance of this debate in recent months. It is often a lonely station when doing this work. Many of us in the Chamber have been those foot soldiers before, but the group's dedication to it is immense and so impressive.

The Bill, as proposed by Senator Gavan, with cross-party support, is clear and straightforward, legislating to create protest exclusion zones within a defined radius of a facility where terminations of a pregnancy are to take place. It involves nothing more or less. In 2018, the people of Ireland voted overwhelmingly for a more compassionate country which respected the experience of women and pregnant people, and the clinical judgment of doctors, and enabled abortion care to be provided. Three years on, I am still overwhelmed at how strong the "Yes" vote was and by how muchthe people of Ireland wanted change to our restrictive, draconian abortion laws. As a country, we had enough of years of secrecy, shame, exile and isolation. We demanded that people be able to access reproductive healthcare in this country, and not have our shame shipped across the sea any longer. The Minister was a part of the campaign. I do not doubt his personal commitment to the issue, but he has an opportunity today to put that commitment into action and to follow up on promises that have been made about the legislation.

A vital part of the campaign was for people to be able to access this healthcare in a safe way, and that means not having to face harassment or intimidation. We were promised that legislation would be introduced on safe-access zones, yet three years on, it is still no dice. Dignity and privacy are two things every patient has a right to expect when attending a GP or hospital. It is a bare minimum, and we will not tolerate any less. As it is, abortion is one of the few services that patients already must worry about being provided by their GP. Only 10% of GPs nationally are providing abortion services at the moment. After people decide to avail of abortion, they should not have to face a crowd of people, some of whom they may know from their local area, standing outside their GP's office or hospital, casting judgment on them. This is not okay. This is not fair. I would go so far as to say that it would not be tolerated if it affected any other group of patients. We have a long and sad history in this country of judging and shaming people for their reproductive choices, and this is simply the newest manifestation of that. The protests are designed to deter people from accessing healthcare and to stop doctors from providing it.

The legislation is necessary, and I ask the Minister to put it at the top of his agenda. Safe-access zones were promised. We have let down women and pregnant people in this country for decades. We simply cannot do so anymore. We have more to do in the repeal review and I am sure many of us in this House will engage with the Minister on this review. His predecessor promised on multiple occasions to legislate for this, but he did not. The Minister has committed to this and yet we are still not there. I ask him to put this at the top of his agenda. This is such a necessary piece of legislation. I urge the Minister not to let another year roll by without this being put to bed.