Legislative Reviews

Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 2 February 2022

Wednesday, 2 February 2022

Questions (151)

Róisín Shortall

Question:

151. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health when the independent chair of the review of the operation of the Health (Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018 is contracted to submit their final report to him for consideration; if amendments to the Act will be a priority issue for the autumn legislative programme; and if the evidence gathered during the review suggests that this is necessary for raising quality standards and providing measurably improved and safer healthcare. [5332/22]

Written answers

Minister for Health

The Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018 was signed into law on 20 December 2018 and commenced on 1 January 2019. Under section 7 of the Act, a review of the operation of the Act must be initiated within three years of the commencement of the Act, i.e., before January 2022.

The review of the operation of the Act has now commenced. As part of the first phase of the review, I announced a public consultation (www.gov.ie/topreview) on the operation of the Act.

As I have stated previously, the review will comprise a three-part approach to appraise the operation of the Act, with strands focusing on service users, service providers and a public consultation. Independent research commissioned to inform the service user and service provider strands will form key elements of the review.

Upon completion of the review, a full report with any necessary recommendations, will be submitted to me as Minister for consideration. The timeframe for the review envisages completion by October 2022.