John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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748. To ask the Minister for Health the groups with whom he has engaged with regard to the review of the operation of the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018; the rationale behind the groups that have been engaged with; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11475/22]

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 met with representatives from the following organisations: The National Women’s Council, Coalition to Repeal the Eighth, Abortion Rights Campaign, Irish Family Planning Association, START Doctors, Disabled Women Ireland and a service user.

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.