Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions
Dail Éireann — 2026-03-04
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Holly Cairns (SD), Cork South-West

Ultimately, when we voted on repeal, we voted to take women's healthcare out of the Constitution and put it into the hands of doctors, the Members in this House and women themselves. No legislation is set in stone, and everybody who voted on this knows that.
A review was also baked into that. With all the other things the Taoiseach has spoken about which people voted on, we also voted that there would be a review. It took five years for that review to happen and a lot of people suffered in that time. Then, we finally got the review and the recommendations were clear: the criminalisation of doctors, cases of fatal foetal abnormalities and the three-day mandatory waiting period all needed to go. The Government has had three years to act on that and it has not. I agree with the Taoiseach that many people who voted "Yes" to repeal, voted "Yes" because of women who needed terminations for medical reasons, yet they are still forced to travel.
Inaction on this is cruel. I ask the Taoiseach to act and to act fast. He says the Government is going to review this. Can he elaborate on the timeline for this? Will he will allow a free vote on this in the Dáil?

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-03-04/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:43+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-03-04