Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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175. To ask the Minister for Health if the 103 adverse incidents reported to the State Claims Agency in relation to the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018 will be discussed as part of the ongoing three-year review of the Act. [13146/22]

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. 

As I stated previously, 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 qualitive 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. 

As the Deputy may be aware, I have appointed Ms. Marie O’Shea B.L. as the independent Chair to lead the second phase of the review of the operation of the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018. The independent Chair will assess the extent to which the objectives of the Act have been achieved, analysing in that regard the findings of the three strands of research to consider the effectiveness and operation of the Act. The Chair may also consult with stakeholders to gather additional information on the operation of the legislation and draw on the findings of other relevant peer-reviewed research to inform her report.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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176. To ask the Minister for Health if the latest announcement from the UK Government that it will soon end telemedicine abortion will inform Irish public policy on this issue in view of the HSE acknowledgement that it relies upon literature from the UK to inform the policy of telemedicine abortion. [13150/22]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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As part of the Government’s ongoing efforts to protect public health and limit the spread of Covid-19, the Department of Health and the HSE worked together in 2020 to put arrangements in place to allow termination of pregnancy services in early pregnancy to be provided remotely. 

For the duration of the Covid-19 public health emergency, where the need for social distancing, reducing personal contacts and reducing the burden on medical practitioners are paramount, it became possible for a woman to access a termination under section 12 of the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018 (i.e., before 12 weeks) from her medical practitioner by telephone or video conference consultation. 

There is ongoing engagement between the Department of Health and the HSE to monitor service provision, facilitate the smooth-running of the service and resolve any issues that may arise. However, as restrictions are beginning to ease, the Department is currently reviewing whether remote consultation as part of a blended approach to termination of pregnancy care should be continued post the COVID-19 public health emergency period. A decision is expected in the coming weeks. It is important to reflect that COVID-19 is still with us and Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) guidance on Managing Risk of Transmission of Respiratory Viruses including COVID-19, continues to advise, amongst other things, to limit footfall in General Practice settings and support telephone consultations where care that meets the needs of the patient can be delivered - this helps to eliminate the risk of transmission of viral infection.