It is because babies have rights too. The Senator should not be frightened of that.

I was clear that I was not comparing the Government with a repressive regime but we need to be aware of the dangers.

Will the Minister take a point from me?

I will be very brief. I thank the Minister for his reply. I look forward to getting that letter. A holding letter is always acceptable. On the issue of the point being moot, the concern people have about these matters is that these measures can always come back. The very big question of whether it is actually constitutional to enforce these measures is hanging in the background. While the point might be moot with regard to the application of the provision now, given the very weighty issues at stake, the question ne…

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. I support this Bill. Anything that assists any of our citizens who are in need of assistance, be it financial, social, emotional or spiritual, in respect of their health needs deserves our support. I supported the principle behind the Labour Party period products legislation some months ago and had planned to speak on that, but I had to travel home to Galway for family reasons at the time. We should always extend whatever reasonable resources are available to any citizen who has a…

The point is the Bill is ambiguous to say the least. In certain quarters, the phrase "reproductive health" is generally used in a way that is intended to include termination of pregnancy. Do those cases also qualify for leave under the Bill? If not, what is the reason for that? If so, why is there not greater specificity about it? I would appreciate clarification from the sponsors of the Bill as to what they envisage and what they understand the Bill is providing for in this regard. From 24 weeks, a miscarriage is …

Go raibh míle maith agat, a Chathaoirligh, agus cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. Official documents that are produced by the authorities of one country, and which are intended to be submitted to the authorities of another, would ordinarily need to be certified as authentic by the government of the originating country in order to be accepted abroad, with further inquiries then taking place after authenticity in the receiving country. This has been simplified in a number of ways - for example, by the Hague Conventi…

I thank the Minister of State for coming in but, unfortunately, the response which has been prepared for him is rather lame. Why is it inevitable that a switchover from an in-person, public-facing system to a registered postal-only service would cause any delay at all? One could argue it may speed up the process in certain circumstances. I have been given no good reason for the delay, apart from the claim that the necessary spacing out of people may contribute to a delay. Surely something such as that could have be…

That is just bluster.

It is a pity the Minister of State did not come in with the information I wanted, instead of supplying information I had not requested.

The Minister of State is reading out a prepared speech instead of answering the question.

Last week, I raised the issue of RTÉ's continuing bias on a range of social issues, particularly abortion. RTÉ has failed to represent the views of the one third of voters who opposed the repeal of the eighth amendment, many of whom regard the consequences of repeal as having been catastrophic for human rights, unborn babies and, indeed, good-quality healthcare in this country. Last Sunday, RTÉ was at it again with a guttingly one-sided celebration of the matter on the "Sunday with Miriam" show, with no attention p…

What about the other third of voters?

I made a simple request.

One should not be left out of the debate when one is in the minority.

This is intolerance by the pro-abortion side.

What about the babies?

On a point of order, I agree that I interrupted Senator Bacik but the Senator has a different technique. On numerous occasions I have heard her raise points of order that are not points of order at all simply in order to make her political point. Sauce for the goose has to be sauce for the gander, even if the goose and gander are operating in slightly different ways.

I have never known the Cathaoirleach to give me an extra minute when Senator Bacik jumps up with a bogus point of order to interrupt me.

On a point of order.