I am pleased to introduce the Bill to the Seanad. As colleagues will be aware, the Bill passed all Stages in Dáil Éireann with broad support and today I am presenting it to the Seanad for consideration. In doing so, I am cognisant that this issue is not new to this House and that legislation with a similar purpose and intent was passed by the House in April of last year. In this respect I acknowledge the contributions of Senators and Together for Safety for their work in this area. It is evident that this Bill builds on their efforts and I am confident that with the passing of this legislation, we will achieve our mutual aim of safe and unimpeded access to termination of pregnancy services.
The legislation delivers on the programme for Government and fulfils a long-standing promise, first made in 2018, to provide for safe access zones. I am fully committed to ensuring that termination of pregnancy services can be accessed quickly and easily by those who need them, without judgment or bias. I have made substantial progress in delivering on that commitment and today marks another important step. I recently announced the provision of termination of pregnancy services in five additional maternity hospitals. This will bring the total number of hospitals providing early termination of pregnancy services to 17.
It marks a significant step in the provision of full services in all 19 hospitals. There has also been a small but steady increase in the number of community providers, which currently stands at 434. The legislation will help to consolidate and protect that progress by ensuring that women can access services free from intimidation and harassment, and service providers and their staff can provide the services.
This is, of course, a complex area of law seeking to balance competing constitutional rights. This Bill is not about criminalising lawful protest. It is not about shutting points of view. It is recognised that while it is vitally important that the rights of women and healthcare providers are respected, it is equally important that rights such as those of assembly, expression and religion are impacted only to the extent where it is necessary and proportionate for the objective to be achieved. With this in mind, officials in my Department engaged extensively with the Office of the Attorney General and other relevant stakeholders to ensure that all areas of this legislation were considered thoroughly. Moreover, I listened carefully to the robust and insightful contributions of Deputies during the passage of the Bill through Dáil Éireann, and re-engaged and re-examined, as necessarily, in terms of the issued raised. It is, therefore, my belief that the Bill, as now drafted, strikes an appropriate balance between the relevant human and constitutional rights involved. Additionally, on foot of Committee Stage discussions, I introduced a Report Stage amendment that provides for a review of the operation of the legislation after a period of 18 months. This will provide a mechanism to identify issues that may arise with the implementation of the Act.
It is important to note that Ireland is not unique in introducing safe access zones. Safe access or buffer zones have long been a feature of the legislative framework in Canada, Australia and certain states in the United States. More recently, and closer to home, the Isle of Man introduced legislation providing for such measures in 2019 while both Scotland and Northern Ireland have or are in the process of following suit. Furthermore, the introduction of safe access zones here in Ireland is supported by clinicians providing the service.
The main purpose of the Bill is to address and mitigate, insofar as possible, the potential for a person's access to a termination of pregnancy to be impacted or influenced at the point of access. It will also provide additional assurance to healthcare providers should their services be the target of specified conduct that could interfere with their service provision.
I will now take colleagues through the Bill. Section 1 is a standard provision containing definitions of the key terms in the Bill. As colleagues will be aware, the Government decided to provide termination of pregnancy services within existing mainstream health services. This was done both to embed the provision of termination of pregnancy services into primary, community and acute services, and to ensure services could be provided to those needing them in relative anonymity. In line with this policy, the safe access zone legislation will not highlight the specific sites at which services are actively provided. Rather, it will create safe access zones 100 m from the entrance or exit to a premises where obstetricians, gynaecologists and general practitioners provide services. This will include such facilities as consulting rooms, family planning clinics and women's health clinics. The zones will also apply to hospitals that provide acute inpatient services within the meaning of section 51 of the Health Act 1970. The zones will apply in certain circumstances to shared properties and to private property.
Section 2 prohibits certain conduct in the vicinity of healthcare premises that may provide termination of pregnancy services, which intentionally or recklessly impedes access or influences the decision of a person in availing of, or providing, termination services. It is not intended to be a general prohibition on expression, assembly or protest in respect of termination of pregnancy services. The overarching aim of this provision is to protect people's access to a lawfully available healthcare service and protect their decision to access termination of pregnancy services from unsolicited influence. Likewise, this also protects healthcare providers in their provision of services and their decision to provide termination of pregnancy services to ensure the availability of service.
Section 3 sets out exemptions that may apply in the context of prohibited conduct within safe access zones and the corresponding offences. In doing so, it further acknowledges and promotes, on a proportionate basis, the balancing of various human and constitutional rights. The section makes it clear that the Bill does not impede, impact on, prohibit or criminalise anything done by healthcare workers and other staff of the healthcare provider in the normal function of the health service.
With regard to the right to protest, the proposed legislation does not interfere with the right to advocate in favour of or against abortion, apart from in the limited areas covered by safe access zones and in the limited fashion covered by the concept of "prohibited conduct". As such, the prohibition is not on the right to protest but on exercising that right of protest within a safe access zone in a manner aimed at interfering with a person's access to a facility for the purpose of availing of or providing termination services.
The section clearly outlines that otherwise lawful protest outside the Houses of the Oireachtas is not prohibited, provided it is not aimed at a specific healthcare facility. The section also ensures that conduct that would otherwise be lawful, which occurs within a public place, meaning a building of worship, is not prohibited. This is to protect, for example, sermons that may be given during church services. This exemption would not apply to, for example, grounds outside of a church within a safe access zone to avoid a situation where protestors use the grounds of a church or a similar location to circumvent the prohibited conduct. The aim of this overarching approach is to ensure the effect of the proposed legislation on the rights of those affected is proportional to the objective sought to be achieved.
Section 4 sets out the powers of An Garda Síochána. The section contains a requirement for a Garda warning as a precursor to the commission of an offence. This mechanism was introduced to enhance legal certainty and protection of rights so that persons at risk of offending through commission of prohibited conduct are clearly made aware that they are engaging in prohibited conduct and that further conduct would amount to an offence. This provides the person concerned with the opportunity to regulate their behaviour and avoid committing an offence. The criminal offence only occurs if the person engages in prohibited conduct after the warning is issued. In line with a recommendation by the Joint Committee on Health, there will also be a requirement to record the warning in writing. The section also includes relatively standard powers of arrest and requirements to provide a member of An Garda Síochána with a name and address for the purposes of recording a warning.
Section 5 sets out the penalties arising for offences under the Bill that may be prosecuted summarily. Penalties have been provided on an escalating basis where harsher penalties may apply for repeat offences.
With regard to section 6, following Committee Stage discussions, I agreed to introduce a Report Stage amendment providing for a review and a report on the operation of the legislation after a period not later than 18 months. This provision also required that the findings of this review would be laid before the House of the Oireachtas.
Section 7 is a standard provision regarding expenses incurred by the Minister in the administration of the Act.
Finally, section 8 is a standard provision containing the Title and commencement date and will provide for commencement on a date prescribed by the Minister by order.
Today affords us the opportunity to make a real difference in people's lives. It is a milestone in ensuring that our friends, colleagues and family members are treated with consideration and empathy at a time when they most need care, and that they are afforded the necessary dignity and privacy to make their own decisions. Essentially, it allows us to put safeguards in place so that women, and service providers and their staff, can access lawful healthcare services without intimidation. In its progress through Dáil Éireann, the legislation generated vigorous debate from across the spectrum of opinion. I am aware that are those in this House who will have reservations about its impact. I look forward to hearing contributions from Senators.
