Last night, Boris Johnson's Bill to override unilaterally parts of the protocol passed its Second Stage vote in the British House of Commons. This legislation is in breach of international law. It potentially has devastating consequences for Ireland's economy and, indeed, for the Good Friday Agreement. What is the Government's response to last night's vote and what steps does the Taoiseach propose to take in response to this Tory belligerence?

First, as I said earlier this morning and have said consistently, I find this legislation, and the decision by the UK Government to legislate unilaterally in regard to the protocol, to be regrettable and unacceptable. This is a trend within the current British Government towards aspects of the Good Friday Agreement, be it the protocol, legacy issues or, most recently, its action on human rights. There is an unacceptable trend towards unilateralism.

The steps we intend to take are to work absolutely in consort with our European partners. We have agreed a co-ordinated approach. I have spoken to the President of the Commission, the President of the European Council and Vice-President Šefčovič to ensure we pursue a co-ordinated, step-by-step, measured and firm response from the European Union.

Following the awful decision of the Supreme Court of the United States in overturning Roe v. Wade on Friday, we know hundreds of thousands of women and girls in the US have been plunged into crisis. We need to ensure, here in Ireland, that we are addressing the real needs of women and girls in crisis pregnancy by ensuring adequate access to abortion healthcare, particularly given the 66.4% majority of the people who voted for repeal of the eighth amendment in 2018. We have learned that 206 women had to travel from Ireland to Britain last year because they could not get an abortion here. We know half of the counties in Ireland have fewer than ten GPs providing abortion, with some having none. Yet, the Minister for Health, in response to a question by Deputy Duncan Smith, said he was satisfied with the geographical spread of abortion provision. Will the Taoiseach guarantee that the review of the abortion legislation will ensure adequate access to abortion care for women in this country who need it?

Yes, the law of the land must be applied, and it must be applied evenly and uniformly across the country. In my view, individual hospitals cannot exclude themselves from the operation of the Act and need to take all actions to ensure it is fulfilled. What has happened in Roe v. Wade cannot happen here, in my view, given the fact we had a referendum and, through the mechanism of that referendum, we decided as a people to amend our Constitution and subsequently to bring in legislation on foot of that decision by the Irish people. It may seem abstract to some, although I know the Deputy will not see it as abstract, but I stress that the idea of the separation of powers is really a lesson we should take from the experience in the United States.

Thank you, Taoiseach.

The legislation coming through the House should reflect that. We have seen what has happened in other European countries. I think the Chief Justice was correct in saying that many aspects we consider fundamental can, at times, be fragile. We are witnessing that now in countries like the United States and the United Kingdom as well-----

The time is up.

-----in terms of the European Convention on Human Rights.