Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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66. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his views on the call by the President of France to include abortion in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. [5245/22]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Coinciding with the beginning of the French Presidency of the Council of the European Union, the President of France set out an overview of his views on a range of issues in a speech to the European Parliament in January. In a wide-ranging address, President Macron expressed a view that the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights should be updated so as to be more explicit about certain issues including “environmental protection and recognition of the right to abortion”.

The provisions of the Charter of Fundamental Rights are addressed to the Member States only when they are implementing EU law. Naturally, any proposed amendments to the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights would require very extensive consideration and debate and would need the agreement of all Member States. As no concrete proposals are in place, the Government has not yet given this matter consideration. Furthermore, the Department of Health is the lead Department in respect of Ireland’s policy on sexual and reproductive health rights.