Tensions in Government over delays to abortion laws review

Green Party chair Pauline O'Reilly said 'there are still a lot of women who are leaving the country for abortions and we voted to ensure that this didn't happen'. Picture: Sasko Lazarov/RollingNews.ie

Tensions are mounting in the Government over a delay in publishing a review on abortion laws.

Green Party chair Pauline O'Reilly has vented frustration with Health Minister Stephen Donnelly over the review, which is required under the legislation introduced following a repeal of the Eighth Amendment.

"It's very hard to know what the hold-up is, but certainly in the Green Party, we're very frustrated at this stage. We really need to see the detail of the review," said Ms O'Reilly.

"There are still a lot of women who are leaving the country for abortions and we voted to ensure that this didn't happen."

The National Women's Council has said the review must be published without delay, claiming that there are still "barriers" for Irish women who require abortions.

HSE data shows only 11 of 19 maternity hospitals are providing abortion services, and just one in 10 GPs.

Ms O'Reilly also called for the introduction of legislation that would ban anti-abortion protests outside hospitals and other healthcare facilities that provide these services.

"We certainly felt that it was imminent," she said of the new laws to provide for safe access zones.

"So that's a big concern that we're not seeing either of those two pieces, they are core to us in the Green Party."

A spokesperson for the Department of Health said Mr Donnelly had initiated the review of the operation of the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018 in line with statutory and Government commitments.

"The review is assessing the effectiveness of the operation of the legislation and will be conducted in a fair and transparent manner."

The spokesperson said the final report of this review is "nearing completion" and is expected to be submitted to the minister before the end of this month.

"The report will then be considered by the minister for health and published as soon as possible thereafter."

Mr Donnelly secured Cabinet approval to legislate for the designation of safe access zones around healthcare premises last July and published the general scheme of the Termination of Pregnancy Services (Safe Access Zones) Bill in August 2022.

However, before Christmas, Mr Donnelly acceded to a request from the health committee for additional time to fully consider the legislation.

"The safe access zones legislation is prioritised in the Government’s spring legislative programme, and officials in the Department of Health are engaging intensively with the Office of the Attorney General and relevant stakeholders to progress this legislation as expeditiously as possible," said a spokesperson.

However, calling for urgent action, Ms O'Reilly pointed to the fact that Ireland has climbed 15 percentage points on a European Atlas on Contraception Access, following the recent introduction of free contraception to women under 30.

"Ireland has now jumped into the top four, that's a massive increase and it's on the basis of the access to contraception that we brought in which was key to us in the Green Party going into Government.

"It just shows that these things can happen relatively quickly and that's what we want to see in relation to the review of abortion legislation," she said.