Noel Grealish (Galway West, Independent)
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651. To ask the Minister for Health whether the review into Ireland's abortion laws has considered the issue of foetal pain relief, in view of the interest in this topic expressed by members of the public and the Houses of the Oireachtas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10094/23]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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Following the referendum in 2018, the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018 was signed into law on 20 December 2018 and commenced on 1 January 2019. The purpose of the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018 is to set out the grounds on which termination of pregnancy is lawful in Ireland. Its purpose is not to dictate clinical practice in the area or set out the medical procedures to be used by medical practitioners carrying out a termination of pregnancy.

The provisions set out in the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018 were made by the Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Eighth Amendment, based on its consideration of the report produced by the Citizens’ Assembly on the issue. No recommendations were made by the Joint Committee, or indeed by the Citizens’ Assembly, on medical procedures or clinical practice around termination of pregnancy.

Detailed work was undertaken by the relevant medical colleges to develop comprehensive clinical guidelines to assist medical practitioners in the clinical decision-making involved in dealing with these cases. This clinical guidance was a key component of the delivery of an integrated service. Care pathways, treatment plans and best medical practice in these sometimes complicated cases are best developed by medical experts and set out in these clinical guidance documents.