I will be speaking this morning at the Irish parliamentary hearings on abortion law

I will be speaking this morning at the Irish parliamentary hearings on abortion law, along with representatives of five Irish churches.

The session runs from 9.30 am to 11.30 am. There will be five-minute opening statements, followed by an hour and a half of questions from TDs and Senators.

It is broadcast live:

• On the Oireachtas website (the hearings are in the Seanad chamber)
• On the Oireachtas channel 207 on the UPC cable network
• On The Journal website with live-blogged written updates

These are today’s three sessions:

Session 1: 9.30-11.30

• Irish Catholic Bishops Conference (Rev. Christopher Jones, Bishop of Elphin; Fr. Timothy Bartlett)
• Church of Ireland (Most Rev. Dr. Michael Jackson, Archbishop of Dublin; Mr. Samuel Harper)
• Presbyterian Church of Ireland (Dr. Trevor Morrow, Dr. Roy Patton)
• Methodist Church of Ireland (Ms. Heidi Good)
• Islamic Cultural Centre of Ireland (Dr. Ali Selim)
• Atheist Ireland (Mr. Michael Nugent)

Session 2: 11.45- 13.45

• Pro Life Campaign (Ms. Caroline Simons; Dr. Berry Kiely)
• Youth Defence (Dr. Eoghan de Faoite; Dr. Sean O’Domhnaill)
• Family & life (Mr. Patrick Carr, Mr. David Manley)
• Iona Institute (Ms. Breda O’Brien)

Session 3: 14.45 – 16.45

• Choice Ireland (Ms. Jacinta Fay; Ms. Denise Ryan)
• National Womens Council of Ireland (Ms. Orla O’Connor, Director, Ms. Jacqueline Healy)
• Action on X (Ms. Ailbhe Smyth; Ms. Therese Caherty)