Annie Hoey (Labour) | Oireachtas source

Thank you. I welcome this discussion and the Bill. I was proud to be part of the cosignatories group on the legislation we proposed in here. I do not want to say I am tickled pink that it is finally coming through but this is significant legislation. We have waited five years for it. The Bill is about patient safety and the well-being of those going into hospitals or healthcare settings, as well as the well-being of doctors, GPs and their staff. We are not just talking about the people who want to access reproductive healthcare but also staff.

I have spoken to those who have sought to access healthcare and to providers. I cannot speak for all of them but those I have spoken to feel this will be beneficial. While we may not have floods of protests outside of places, it has a chilling effect and that is what it is designed to have. People have had to make decisions to go into access reproductive healthcare even though they know there is a protest outside, particularly, as has been referenced, in Limerick. When people access this kind of healthcare, they cannot decide to wait until next week or until another day or hold off until the protests are not there. Often this healthcare is extremely time-sensitive because of the legislation, or perhaps for personal reasons. People do not have the luxury of waiting until the protesters are no longer outside. No one should have to make a healthcare decision based on waiting for when protestors will not be outside. That is not the best way to do that. It can be frightening and worrying for prospective patients.

I hope and believe this Bill will address the chill effect the protests are designed to achieve. The actions of these protesters are rooted in judgment and not in compassion. We have seen the strategy used for decades in the US, the UK and elsewhere in Europe. I cannot comprehend how people feel they have a right to cause hurt and upset instead of showing care and compassion for fellow people. There are legitimate means, I believe, to express disquiet over abortion in Ireland which do not hurt, impede, insult or upset people as they access necessary healthcare.

A previous speaker referenced a woman who had to walk by small white coffins. I have also spoken to women who were not even going into a hospital but who contacted me.I think I was actually in the Chamber when I got a text message to say this woman had walked by a protest and there was a white coffin outside. She was slightly older and she said it just brought what she had experienced flooding back to her. She had never gone for an abortion or done anything like that, but she had lost a child a long time before that. She said to me that she thought we were in a different place in Ireland now. I think this will be really important. It is not just people who are trying to access abortion or reproductive healthcare. There are people who are walking by who may have lost a very wanted child for whom that pregnancy was not viable or did not continue. This is a very difficult process for them when they see those small white coffins, which are designed to be so incredibly evocative. I do not believe they should be used in a way to intimidate, harass or punish people. I cannot even imagine what it is like to have to look at one of those small white coffins and be reminded of something that happened in their lives. I cannot understand how people feel that is an acceptable, fair and compassionate way to treat people. I cannot wait for this legislation to go through.

I will not necessarily drag on because everything has been said. I was struck by a previous speaker who said this is designed to finish the work of the legislation begun five years ago. That is absolutely right. This is part of the legislation that was promised five years ago. That is exactly how the system works. We say we are going to do some legislation and then at some point in the subsequent years we get the legislation done. I think that is perfectly right and correct. I am glad that we are working to finish the legislation as was promised five years ago.

As has been alluded to in this House, other pieces still need to be looked at including the three-day wait period. Women are still forced to travel to the UK in cases of fatal foetal abnormality. There is a little bit more to do. It is absolutely right and proper that the Minister for Health is here today finishing legislation that was promised to us. That is great. I do not know why there is an issue with that. I am thrilled if I may be so frank about it. I know the Minister is taking this very seriously. I hope this legislation will give comfort to other providers.

We had a discussion about some of the providers, particularly in the midlands and north west, who feel they cannot currently provide access. It may be related to the threat of protest outside. Some of the providers I have spoken to fear that if they were to be known as providing abortion care in their clinics in some rural parts of Ireland, they would become a target of protests. People should not have to decide not to provide healthcare in an area because of the fear that it would bring disrepute to them and their clinic. I spoke to a doctor who said she cannot have patients coming for other kinds of healthcare and then see protesters outside. She said she was not willing to take that risk. I hope this legislation will provide comfort to her and other GPs that this will not be allowed to happen.

I was struck by the comment about on this. A woman spoke to me. She was going into hospital for a reason completely unrelated to reproductive healthcare and she saw a small quiet gathering outside. She recognised someone in it and she thought, "Oh my God, I know that person." She was just going into the hospital for a perfectly routine thing and recognised someone outside. Of course, someone at some point will recognise anyone. That always struck me. As I said, she was not going in for any reproductive reasons but she recognised somebody outside. We could probably pop a pin into the idea of anonymity in Ireland because someone knows someone somewhere. I am not entirely convinced that people would just be able to scoot in and out and not recognise someone outside.

I thank those involved in Together for Safety, Karen, Evie and Jan O'Sullivan, a former Labour colleague of mine, and all my fellow repealers who have been working on this for a long time. As we have said, this is finishing the work of the legislation that was promised five years ago and it is about time. Hurrah for that. This Bill has been a long time coming. We need to get our act together.

I was struck by what Senator Gavan said regarding the timing of this legislation in the new year. It had not even occurred to me that there are particular times of the calendar year when these protests might ramp up. It would be useful for the Minister to consider the timing of getting this legislation done. That would be very welcome. There was a very clear "Yes" vote in the referendum and we had a very clear promise that there would be legislation. I am really pleased that we are getting it through the Seanad. I look forward to Committee Stage and engaging with the Minister on some of the issues Senator Gavan raised that we think could be tightened up. I am thrilled that we are here. I am thrilled that we are finally getting there.