Legislation for 'exclusion zones' for abortion services passes through Dáil
Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly during a press conference at Government Buildings in Dublin. Picture date: Wednesday October 11, 2023.
Legislation to make it illegal to protest within 100 metres of facilities providing abortion services has passed the Dáil.
The safe access zones legislation was voted through by 117 votes to 10 and will now be sent to the Seanad before going to the President for final approval.
As part of the proposed laws, a 100m exclusion zone will be placed around the entrance and exit of all healthcare facilities that provide abortion services.
These healthcare facilities include GP practices, maternity hospitals, and family planning clinics.
Under the legislation, gardaí will be able to issue people protesting within safe access zones with a “warning”, with criminal offences only occurring if the same person engages in protest on multiple occasions.
The offences themselves are due to be prosecuted within the District Court, with penalties being issued based on the number of offences.
The maximum penalty will be either a €2,500 fine or six months in prison for repeat offences.
Speaking during the Dáil debate on the passage of the bill on Wednesday, Health Minister Stephen Donnelly said that Ireland had a "dark, dark history" in terms of women's reproductive health.
He said that this bill would make sure that women who access abortion services can do so "free of harassment, free of intimidation and free of abuse".
He said that he was proposing an 18 month review of the working of the zones. He said that this incidents that the act was looking to prevent were "relatively rare" and this would mean enough time to see if the act was working as intended.
