Government accused of 'sitting on its hands' on abortion care reform
Taoiseach Simon Harris rejected claims the government has been "sitting on its hands" on abortion care. File Picture: Andres Poveda
The Government has not yet considered recommendations to change abortion services, including the three day wait period, the Taoiseach has confirmed.
Simon Harris has rejected claims the Government has been "sitting on its hands" on abortions care reforms, which were brought forward more than a year ago.
It came as the Taoiseach was pressed by Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns and People Before Profit TD Bríd Smith who both highlighted the fact that women are still being “traumatised, stigmatised and penalised” under the current abortion system which is forcing some patients to travel abroad.
Pressing Mr Harris on when the full recommendations of the independent review of abortion services will be implemented, Ms Cairns accused the Government of inaction.
"The Government has been sitting on the expert report that pointed out these problems for 12 months. Instead of action, we have had a game of political pass the parcel."
However, Mr Harris told the Dáil that some of recommendations contained in the independent review require legislative change and have not been discussed by Cabinet yet.
Responding, Ms Cairns said: "To hear that a year after a report was given to the Government it has not been considered is extremely worrying."
She said Irish law still forces women to travel abroad for care because often doctors either cannot definitively say complex foetal abnormalities will lead to death within 21 days of birth, as the law demands, or they interpret the law conservatively because of the threat of criminal sanction - up to 14 years of a prison sentence.
Speaking during his first Leaders' Questions as Taoiseach, Mr Harris pointed to progress that has been made and said 17 hospitals are now providing abortion services with the remaining two expected to be on board by the end of the year.
Mr Harris added that the number of GPs and community providers is also increasing.
He said legislation to introduce safe access zones will also pass through the Oireachtas soon.
"Safe access zones was another legislative issue that came at us in terms of wanting women and health professionals," he said.
Mr Harris said: "It is not that the Government has a report and has not been doing anything, however. A very significant amount of work has been done with that report in the operational space and also, from a legislative point of view, the priority has been with regard to safe access zones."
Meanwhile, Sinn Féin president Mary Lou McDonald raised the length of time many children are waiting to have scoliosis surgeries.
She said that in 2017 as Health Minister Mr Harris promised that by the end of that year no child would wait longer than four months for scoliosis surgery.
"That was seven years ago and that promise has been broken again and again. That promise made by the Taoiseach then was broken," said McDonald.
She said there are now 4,000 children waiting for their first medical consultation, with 270 on the surgery list, of whom 78 are waiting longer than 5 months.
"The most desperate, in many cases, have had the longest wait," she said.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
