I welcome and support this Bill. In December 2018, the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Bill was signed into law. Section 7 of the Act provided that a review of the operation of the Act be carried out. That review was included to facilitate monitoring of the operation of the legislation in practice as well as of the delivery of services. A public consultation commenced in December 2021 and concluded in April 2022. Submissions to the consultation were accepted in several formats, including online, by email and by post. Almost 7,000 submissions were received and reviewed and the review found that, while the vast majority of early-stage terminations were accessed smoothly, significant structural and legislative barriers remained, including the three-day wait rule addressed by this proposed legislation. The report recommended the removal of the mandatory three-day wait, stating it delays time-sensitive healthcare and is demeaning to patients. As these services are not operated 365 days per year, the three-day wait can extend to four or five days, particularly if the first visit is towards the end of a week and if there are public holidays. The mandatory three-day wait may cause women to time out of eligibility for care in Ireland as well. The review was also subject of a report by the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health and the committee supported the package of measures recommended by the review and stated work should be advanced to give effect to the recommendations without any delay. It recommended the Minister for Health should bring forward appropriate proposals as a matter of priority. Access to GP services seriously impinges on this issue, especially for women in rural areas. It is increasingly the case GPs are not accepting new patients and GP appointments can be delayed for a week or more. This issue affects rural areas and areas of deprivation most. The statistics from the WHO show we are seriously under-resourced when it comes to GPs. The norm is one GP to 1,000 people but our figure is one GP to 1,759 people and can be as high as one per 3,500 people in some areas. A survey in 2024 found two thirds of GPs in rural Ireland could not accept new patients. This gives rise to a clear urban-rural divide, with rural women being disadvantaged. I support the Bill.

Sentiment score: 0.13