Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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Expanded termination of pregnancy services commenced on 1st January 2019 and are provided through participating doctors and hospitals throughout the country. However, I am aware that statistics reported by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) in the UK showed that women with Irish addresses continued to access termination of pregnancy services in that jurisdiction in 2021.

As the Deputy will be aware, the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018 permits terminations to be carried out in cases where there is a risk to the life, or of serious harm to the health, of a pregnant woman; where there is a condition present likely to lead to the death of the foetus either before or within 28 days of birth; and without restriction up to 12 weeks of pregnancy.

I wish to assure the Deputy that it is a priority for my Department that the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018 is performing as it should be, to enable all women in Ireland to access services quickly and easily, without bias or judgment. There has been a substantial reduction in the number of people with Irish addresses availing of termination of pregnancy services in the UK since the enactment of the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018 and the commencement of services.

There is ongoing engagement between the Department of Health and the HSE to facilitate the operation of the service and to resolve any issues that may arise.