Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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923. To ask the Minister for Health the extent to which the management and-or termination of pregnancies as anticipated in the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018 has been observed by various practitioners at various levels throughout the country; if this is in accordance with the Act in terms of the availability of services to women; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8434/22]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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As part of the Deputy’s question relates to a service area, I have referred this question to the HSE for direct response.

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.

Research to inform the service user strand is being carried out by Dr Catherine Conlon, Associate Professor, Trinity College, who is progressing a large qualitative study to analyse unplanned pregnancy and abortion care. The study, which was commissioned by the HSE’s Sexual Health and Crisis Pregnancy Programme in September 2019, will generate an in-depth understanding of the experiences of women who have accessed abortion care services since the commencement of the Act.

Independent research is also being commissioned on service providers’ views on the operation of the legislation. The tender application process for this research closed in January 2022.