Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 20 April 2023
18. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Health if he can report on the review of the legislation on the Termination of Pregnancy Act; if he will bring proposals to Cabinet on foot of the review; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17654/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the Deputy is aware, the Review of the operation of the Health(Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018 commenced in line with statutory and Government commitments in December 2021.
The purpose of the Review was to assess the effectiveness of the operation of the legislation.
The Review comprised two phases. The first phase of the Review was an evidence and information gathering exercise which consisted of a public consultation, and research into the operation of the Act from the perspectives of both services users and service providers.
The second phase of the Review was led by an independent chair, Ms Marie O’Shea, B.L. who assessed the extent to which the objectives of the 2018 Act have been achieved, analysing in that regard the findings of the three strands of information from the first phase. The Chair also drew on the findings of other relevant peer-reviewed research and consulted with stakeholders as necessary before providing conclusions.
I can confirm that I have received the final Report of the Review in recent weeks. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the independent Chair, Marie O’Shea, for her dedication and hard work in preparing this extensive Report. I would also like to acknowledge and thank the stakeholders, service providers, services users, and the public for their input into this important document.
I had a productive meeting with the Chair in relation to her recommendations and have also had discussions with clinicians leading out on service delivery. Having reviewed the Report in detail I believe it is a good Report, which makes a range of recommendations most of which are operational in nature, with some proposing legislative change.
This comprehensive document is currently being examined in my Department and a memo will be brought to Government in the coming weeks.
Subject to Government approval, I expect to be in a position to publish the Review shortly thereafter.
