Lorraine Clifford-Lee (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It is great to be in the Seanad among like-minded colleagues who have worked for many years to improve women's healthcare. It is also great to have our guests from Together for Safety in the Gallery. I thank them for all of the work they have done, not only on this legislation but also on keeping this important issue on the political agenda.

I look forward to getting a timeline from the Minister setting out how we can protect workers and the people who seek to access services. We must make sure we have a fit-for-purpose healthcare system in Ireland. We passed legislation on termination services but there are a number of gaps. I hope we can speedily close those gaps.

I know the Minister is deeply committed to this issue. Its inclusion in the programme for Government was a recognition that it is a very important issue and one that needs to be solved. We have been promised this legislation for a long time, as Senator Hoey said. Four years is too long. The Minister took up the mantle when he went into the Department because no work had been done on the issue by the Department or his predecessor. Notwithstanding that the Minister had to deal with difficult health issues, he has put an awful lot of work into this issue. I hope that by virtue of his deep commitment, we will be able to move this legislation forward and get it across the line.

I look forward to hearing the Minister outline how he will approach this issue. Members of this House and the other House are deeply committed to solving this issue. People should not have to face the terror experienced in Limerick, as has been outlined. That is absolutely horrendous and similar situations have occurred in other parts of the country. In large swathes of rural Ireland services are not available because of this intimidation. That is not on and we cannot stand for it any longer. I and colleagues across the House will not stand for it.

I appreciate the opportunity to contribute on this legislation. I thank the Senators who brought this issue before us for allowing us an opportunity to debate this matter again.