Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 5 Apr 2000

Vol. 517 No. 4

Written Answers. - Crisis Pregnancies.

Theresa Ahearn

Ceist:

88 Mrs. T. Ahearn asked the Minister for Health and Children the steps, if any, he will take to implement the recommendations contained in the women and crisis pregnancy study undertaken at the request of his Department. [9477/00]

Monica Barnes

Ceist:

101 Mrs. Barnes asked the Minister for Health and Children the policies, if any, he will implement to reduce the number of women terminating pregnancies outside the State; and the action taken by the Government in this area. [9098/00]

Minister for Health and Children (Mr. Martin)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 88 and 101 together.

When the Women and Crisis Pregnancy report was published in 1998 the view of my predecessor as Minister was that it would not have been appropriate to publish a major report containing recommendations while the consultation process leading to the preparation of the Green Paper on abortion was under way. The report as published did not contain recommendations but did contain detailed findings and conclusions, based on the research undertaken. The research team which had undertaken the study was invited to make a submission to the interdepartmental working group which was preparing the Green Paper, and such a submission was made. Along with other submissions received, this was taken into account in the drafting of the Green Paper.

The Green Paper on abortion contained a detailed discussion of the social context of abortion as it involves Irish women and identified a range of issues regarding the availability of family planning and related services as well as the attitudes of young people to sexual behaviour, which impact on the incidence of unplanned and unwanted pregnancy.

Additional funding of £1 million in 1999 and a further £1.6 million in 2000 has been provided to the health boards to enable them to fund measures aimed at addressing the issue of unwanted pregnancy. Health boards are undertaking a range of initiatives in this area. The type of issues on which boards are being asked to concentrate when developing policy include the provision of services which are accessible to young people and which meet their needs in relation to issues such as confidentiality and hours of operation. Educational-promotional activities should focus on such issues as the need for responsible sexual behaviour of young people at risk, increased awareness of pregnancy counselling services and the cultivation of more responsible attitudes to alcohol, with particular regard to alcohol and sexual activity.

Where pregnancy counselling services are supported, boards have been asked to ensure that these are available on a drop-in basis without any waiting period and that a choice of service provider is available. Steps to increase women's awareness of post-abortion counselling and of the need for medical check-ups are also being considered. Such check-ups also provide an opportunity for women to obtain advice on appropriate contraception for the future and thereby reduce the incidence of further unwanted pregnancies.

In addition to measures which are being developed by health boards, my Department is at present planning a public awareness campaign which will aim to encourage sexually active young people to be responsible in their attitudes to relationships and to inform and educate them about the issues involved.