Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Amendments Nos. 6 and 8 relate to religious expression. I regard the amendments as unnecessary and I am proposing to reject them. There is no expressed prohibition in this Bill on prayer, silent or otherwise. The primary intention of the legislation is to prohibit conduct aimed at impeding access to or otherwise influencing decisions in relation to termination of pregnancy services and specifically then, only within 100 m of service providers. In addition to that, no offence can be committed until a warning has been issued. In the circumstances, I regard the amendments as unnecessary.