I would like to ask the Taoiseach about the Health and Social Care Professionals (Amendment) Bill 2017 and where it stands. Is there any possibility that we can hurry it up through the various Stages? I know there is an amendment to that Bill that aims to stop bogus pregnancy advice clinics operating. I do not know if the Taoiseach is aware of it, but we have an extraordinary situation where these unregulated clinics remain unregulated as long as they give misinformation and tell lies. They are sometimes abusive towards very vulnerable women who are facing crisis pregnancies and often use the most objectionable methods to frighten women into not taking the option of having an abortion. Despite that, these clinics remain unregulated, whereas those clinics which give factual, proper health information are regulated under the 1995 Act. Some of these clinics were inadvertently funded by the Crisis Pregnancy Agency. We recently saw the exposure of yet another clinic giving bogus information to women in crisis and stressful situations.

We are on promised legislation.

That has to be dealt with urgently. I ask the Taoiseach how much urgency we can put into stopping this happening. It is bad enough that we have the eighth amendment, which forces women into positions like this because they are not able to obtain abortions in this country, but it is a double-whammy to have these clinics operating without regulation.

I will ask the Minister for Health to respond to Deputy Bríd Smith's query.

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. We can all agree that this is absolutely disgusting and despicable. I would not even call it misinformation. Women are just being told, in some cases, absolute downright lies.

I call it abuse.

I think that word is also correct. The question that faces this Oireachtas is how to shut these facilities down. I know the Joint Committee on Health has considered Deputy Howlin's Bill. Deputy Howlin has done some very important work on this. I suggest that the most appropriate way is for us to regulate counsellors and psychotherapists and we to make it very clear that if women want to ensure they get accurate advice, they should go to counsellors and psychotherapists who are licensed and registered. That work is already under way. We have had public consultation. We received 84 submissions and I expect to be receiving the recommendations from my Department in the next couple of weeks in relation to that matter.

The Deputy asked what stage the Bill is at. It is a priority for drafting this session.

I remind the House that it is not customary to use the word "lies". I am sure we can find other words.