Carol Nolan (Laois-Offaly, Independent)
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833. To ask the Minister for Health the reasons it took five years for his Department to draft the Health (Termination of Pregnancy Services (Safe Access Zones) Bill 2023, a Bill containing just seven sections; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34248/23]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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On 27th July 2022 I secured Cabinet approval to legislate for the designation of safe access zones around certain healthcare facilities. The General Scheme of a Bill was published on the 5th August 2022. Since that time officials from my Department have worked with the Office of the Attorney General and other relevant stakeholders to draft the text of a Bill. This Bill is now at second stage in Dail Eireann.

It is recognised that this a complex area of the law seeking to balance competing constitutional rights. Therefore, it was important that there was careful consideration of the issues involved, to ensure that any legislative provisions are implementable and enforceable, and capable of withstanding legal challenges.