Health staff protests ‘not affected’ by plan for exclusion zones, committee told

Protests by health service staff will not be affected by the plan to impose safe access zones at health facilities providing terminations of pregnancy, an Oireachtas committee has been told.

Industrial action by health staff is unlikely to fall within the scope of the proposed legislation, as it could not reasonably be expected to influence a person’s access to services, according to Department of Health officials.

Caitriona Mason of the department’s bioethics unit said its legal advice was that protests would not be captured by the measure. However, engagement with the Attorney General’s office is continuing, and if any doubt arises, a specific provision allowing workers to protest may be put into the legislation.

People Before Profit TD Brid Smith said unofficial strikes could fall foul of the proposed legislation, and called for a specific clause excluding strike activity to be added.

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The health committee met yesterday for pre-legislative scrutiny of the Health (Termination of Pregnancy Services (Safe Access Zones)) Bill 2022.

Under the proposed laws, anti-abortion protests will be prohibited with 100 metres of any facility that could be providing access to terminations. This will effectively mean the introduction of exclusion zones around all hospitals, GP practices and other facilities such as Wellwoman and Irish Family Planning Association services.

The exclusion zone will apply up to 100 metres from the entrance or gate of the health facility, officials said.

Protections will also apply to prevent the harassment of staff involved in the provisions of terminations, regardless of where this takes place.

I’m not certain it is a good idea to identify areas where particular services such as termination of pregnancy are available

Fine Gael TD Bernard Durkan warned the measure could prove counter-productive, as the proposed exclusion zone would be obvious to protesters

Similar measures in the US have not been successful, he said, and had led to “constant pressures and attacks” by anti-abortion groups.

“I’m not certain it is a good idea to identify areas where particular services such as termination of pregnancy are available,” he said. “It only does the job for those that want to protest.”

If it does not prove possible to protect people, that would weaken the legislation, Mr Durkan said, and the protesters would have achieved the victory they sought.

Department assistant secretary Muiris O’Connor told the committee that exclusion zones will apply to all GP surgeries and maternity hospitals that can provide terminations, not just the ones that currently do, so attention will not be “inadvertently” drawn to a particular location.

Mr O’Connor said the Bill does not impede or prohibit anything done by health staff in the normal function of the healthcare service. “In relation to the right to protest, the proposed legislation preserves the right to protest against abortion and speak out in favour or against it, apart from in the limited areas covered by Safe Access Zones,” he said.

Officials said they hoped to have the legislation passed by the end of the year, but subsequent legal challenges are anticipated.