Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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271. To ask the Minister for Health when the Bill to legislate for access to abortion here will be published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29481/18]

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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272. To ask the Minister for Health the legal advice he has received on the publication of the legislation to allow for abortion here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29482/18]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 271 and 272 together.

The Thirty-Sixth Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2018 seeks to delete Article 40.3.3 of the Constitution and substitute it with wording confirming that the Oireachtas may make laws for the regulation of the termination of pregnancy. A Polling Day Order for a referendum was held on 25 May 2018 and the referendum was passed by a substantial majority. A certificate with the provisional result of the referendum was published in Iris Oifigiuil on 29 May.

Two applications for permission to challenge the result of the referendum have been made to the High Court under section 42 of the Referendum Act 1994. The High Court began to hear the applications on Tuesday, 26 June and concluded on Friday, 29 June. Judgement on the applications have been reserved.

When there is a referendum petition outstanding, the referendum certificate remains provisional and the Thirty- sixth Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2018 cannot be signed into law by the President. Therefore the Bill to expand the grounds for legal termination of pregnancy cannot be published in the Houses of the Oireachtas while article 40.3.3 remains unchanged in the Constitution.

However, work is ongoing on the preparation of  the legislation to regulate termination of pregnancy based on the General Scheme of a Bill to Regulate Termination of Pregnancy approved by Government on 27 March and published on Department of Health website.