Niall Ó Donnghaile (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire agus roimh an reachtaíocht atá os ár gcomhair inniu. It is always good to have a fellow "Donnelly" in the Chamber, in particular when they are outlining welcome news such as that contained in the Bill today.I am conscious of the fact that so far, through no fault of our own, it is all men who have been speaking on this legislation. I do not think that is reflective of the Seanad, however. Our Seanad Leader and the majority of leaders are women. This twenty-sixth Seanad, in particular, has a proud record in advocating for and advancing women's health issues. I am conscious of that as I rise to my feet.

Any measure that reduces the cost of healthcare for any citizen is, of course, to be welcomed. I say that as someone who avails of free universal healthcare and have done all of my life. It is a significant step forward that I hope will be followed by many more steps ahead with regard to making healthcare much more accessible and available to all citizens. I welcome that in the first instance.

Like other colleagues, I will not use the entire duration of my time but I also welcome the roll-out of free contraception to women aged 17 to 25. The Minister could perhaps keep me right on this issue, however. I note that in a response to a parliamentary question tabled by my colleague, Deputy Cullinane, the Minister said:

Full year costings for 17-25 year-olds may be considered in the context of Estimates 2023, but no costings have been finalised to date and no funding allocations for future years agreed at this stage. Estimated costings for wider age ranges have been included in the Report of the Working Group on Contraception.

Obviously, my colleague, Senator Conway, referred to the need for this to ultimately be rolled out to broader age groups. The Minister might be able to clarify that for me more comprehensively in terms of his response on Second Stage. My colleagues in the Lower House outlined Sinn Féin's broader approach to this legislation and, indeed, the issues contained therein. Before I finish, I will quickly note and welcome the fact that according to today's Irish Examiner, we finally have legislation that will be ready to be enacted with regard to safe access zones.