328. Deputy Neasa Hourigan asked the Minister for Health the financial support available to women who are unable to access abortion in Ireland so that they can access abortion care elsewhere; whether his Department takes responsibility for providing financial support to cover costs such as flights, clinic fees and local transport to women in the international protection system who need to access abortion care abroad; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42303/24]

The Health(Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Bill 2018 was signed into law on 20 December 2018. Expanded termination of pregnancy services have been available since 1 January 2019.

The Act allows termination to be carried out in cases where there is a risk to the life, or of serious harm to the health, of the pregnant woman; where there is a condition present which is likely to lead to the death of the foetus either before or within 28 days of birth; and without restriction up to 12 weeks of pregnancy.

This is in line with the recommendations of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution, which published its report and recommendations in December 2017.

Prior to the May 2018 Referendum on the 8th Amendment, the General Scheme of the Bill to regulate termination of pregnancy was published. The final legislation enacted is consistent with the published proposals.

Following the introduction of termination of pregnancy services, a free service, My Options, was established to provide information, support, non-directive counselling and clinical advice regarding unplanned pregnancy. My Options provides information about abortion services and medical support for anyone who is having or has had an abortion.

Judgement free counselling is also available to anyone having an unplanned pregnancy. Counselling can be provided over the phone or information can be provided for free face to face counselling services. The HSE funds these counselling services to provide unplanned pregnancy and post abortion counselling.

This service is available for 240 different languages and is free and confidential. There will be a 3-way call arranged between the individual seeking support, the My Options counsellor and the interpreter.

The My Options telephone service provides a 24/7 medical support service for anyone who is having or has had an abortion.

For those women who are unable to access abortion in Ireland, if they contact the My Options helpline they will be provided with contact details of the UK charity, the Abortion Support Network (ASN). Financial help is available to support with some costs including flights, etc but this would be assessed on a case by case basis.

My Department has no role in making arrangements for people to avail of the service outside of the jurisdiction.