Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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1616. To ask the Minister for Health the reason that he refused to meet with pro-life parliamentary colleagues and advocacy groups in the lead-up to the three-year review process; his views on whether this one-sided approach is consistent with his claim to have conducted a broad consultation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1101/22]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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The Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018 was signed into law on 20 December 2018 and commenced on 1 January 2019. Under section 7 of the Act, a review of the operation of the Act must be initiated within three years of the commencement of the Act, i.e., before January 2022. 

I have commenced the Review of the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018 in line with statutory and Government commitments.  

The review will examine the Act of 2018, which sets out four different types of situations in which a termination of pregnancy can lawfully occur in the State.  

The Review will access the effectiveness of the operation of the legislation and will be conducted in a fair and transparent manner.  

As I have set out before, the review will comprise a three-part approach to appraise the operation of the Act, with strands focusing on service users, service providers and a public consultation. Independent research commissioned to inform the service user and service provider strands will form key elements of the review. 

As part of the first phase of the review, I announced a public consultation (www.gov.ie/topreview) on the operation of the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018. The public consultation will provide an opportunity for members of the public, organisations, stakeholders, advocacy groups working in the area, and all other interested parties to inform the review of their views on the operation of the legislation. 

I have previously stated that an independent Chair will be appointed to lead the review later this month. The terms of reference for the Chair are available on the Department of Health website.  

Upon completion of the review, a full report with any necessary recommendations, will be submitted to me as Minister for consideration.