Bill proposes €3,000 fine or jail for anti-abortion protesters who gather outside clinics

A person guilty of a breach of this could face up to six months in prison or a fine of up to €3,000.

A Bill to impose a €3,000 fine or a jail term on anti-abortion protesters who gather outside hospitals and clinics has received cross-party support.

The draft Bill produced by Together for Safety group, will establish safe access zones outside healthcare facilities that provide abortion services.

Karen Sugrue of Together for Safety said: "Every day there are protests and people are being distressed every day, so the sooner we can get this legislation over the line the better."

Legislating for safe access zones was an issue that the Green Party fought hard to get into the Programme for Government and Ms Sugrue said this Bill provides a "practical means for delivering on the issue".

The Bill, which is due to be launched on Friday, has received the support of senators from Sinn Féin, the Green Party, Labour as well as Independents. It aims to ensure "free and unencumbered access" to facilities providing legal termination of pregnancy services and to prevent harassment outside these facilities.

Under the legislation, it would be an offence to protest directly outside hospitals, GP clinics or other facilities that provide abortion services.

A person guilty of a breach of this could face up to six months in prison or a fine of up to €3,000.

Senator Paul Gavin who intends to introduce the Bill in the Seanad in the coming weeks said the Upper House has co-operated on a cross-party basis with previous bills and he hopes the same will be the case here.

"While Sinn Féin are proud to be supporting this Bill, this is not about party politics, this is just about getting these measures introduced," said Mr Gavan.

He added that if there are any Government concerns with the bill in its current format they can be addressed at committee stage.

Safe access zone legislation, which bans anti-abortion protests within around 100m of maternity hospitals and clinics, was promised in 2018 in tandem with the introduction of abortion services.

The Department of Health recently told the Irish Examiner that the Minister for Health now intends to bring forward proposals for the introduction of safe access zones next spring.