Carol Nolan (Offaly, Independent)
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1346. To ask the Minister for Health her views on the Report of the Review of the operation of the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018; if she is taking steps to implement the recommendations of the report; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3514/25]

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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The final Report of the Independent Review of the Operation of the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018 was submitted to my predecessor at the end of February 2023. It made a range of recommendations, most of which are operational in nature, with some proposing legislative change.

As agreed by Government the HSE established an implementation group to progress the operational recommendations.

Significant progress has already been made in this regard, for instance six additional hospitals started providing termination services in 2023, an increase of 55%.

Termination services in early pregnancy (up to 12 weeks) are currently provided in 17 of the 19 maternity hospitals, with the remaining two expected to come onboard shortly.

There has also been a sustained increase in community providers, As of January 2025, there are 448 Termination of Pregnancy providers in the community. This includes 437 GP contractors and 11 women’s health services contractors.

Safe Access Legislation passed both Houses of the Oireachtas and came into effect on the 17th October 2024.

Consideration of the proposed legislative changes is a matter for Government.