Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent)
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695. To ask the Minister for Health the details of the precise steps he took in sourcing and inviting his eventual appointee to apply for the role of chair of the review of the abortion law. [16143/22]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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As I stated during my appearance before the Joint Committee on Health on 8 December, it was my intention to appoint an independent Chair to lead the second phase of the review of the operation of the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018.

As the costs involved in contracting an independent Chair to conduct the review were estimated as exceeding €25,000, the advice I received was that the Department was obliged under procurement rules to tender for the appointment.

Given the expertise required for the position, a small number of candidates, identified as having suitable experience, were contacted and invited to tender for the role of independent Chair. This is in line with European Union (Award of Public Authority Contracts) Regulations 2016.