Church-State Relations
Dail Éireann — 2024-01-23
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Bríd Smith (PBP), Dublin South-Central

In his engagement with religious leaders, did the Taoiseach or officials from his Department have any discussion with Archbishop Eamon Martin? It may have gone under the radar but just before Christmas, after the Dáil had wound down, the archbishop made a statement on the safe access zones Bill. Can the Taoiseach hurry this legislation up? There have been protests outside abortion clinics this morning in Limerick, and they are pretty intimidating protests by men carrying rosary beads and aggressively approaching women attending for reproductive healthcare. In this statement, the archbishop said "The imposition of so-called 'safe' abortion zones will further silence the voice of the innocent unborn", and the introduction of such zones "increases fears that freedom of religion, belief, expression and association are being undermined and open to attack". That is a pretty serious and aggressive statement to make when we need this Bill to be fast-tracked through as quickly as possible. Will the Taoiseach also comment on what the Government intends doing in relation to the Marie O'Shea review, which again went under the radar just as we broke up for Christmas, and how it is going to legislate to implement the recommendations she made?

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2024-01-23/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:52:34+00:00
Sitting date: 2024-01-23