Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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833. To ask the Minister for Health the way that the ongoing engagement between his Department and the HSE on telemedicine abortion is progressing; and the way the continuation of telemedicine home abortions is being considered given that the HSE has acknowledged that it has conducted no analysis into the operation or potential risks of the practice in Ireland and is reliant upon secondary information from England on the matter. [14031/22]

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, with restrictions eased, 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. As such the arrangements for remote access to this service in the context of COVID-19 remain in place.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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834. To ask the Minister for Health if the chair of the review of the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018 has consulted with any stakeholders since the date of their appointment; and if so, the name of the stakeholders with whom they have consulted. [14032/22]

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.

The role of the Chair in Review of the operation of the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018 is to carry out their work independently, as such I do not presently have oversight of the specific engagements she has had to date. The review process is an ongoing and active process.

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. My Department is managing the public consultation which is currently open.