COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

South Dublin County Council Crest

MEETING OF SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

Monday, April 08, 2019

MOTION NO. 4

MOTION: Councillor D. Looney, Councillor S. Holland

  1. That this Council, exercising its powers under Section 199 of the Local Government Act, makes the following bye-laws for the regulation and control of public roads and footpaths adjacent to service providers of abortion services in South Dublin County to exclude any form of prohibited behaviour with a 200 metre area from the outer edge of the healthcare facility.

     

    For the purposes of these bye-laws, ‘prohibited behaviour’ shall include, but is not limited to:

     

    (i) Besetting, harassing, intimidating, interfering with, threatening, hindering, obstructing or impeding a person who is attempting to enter a healthcare facility;

     

    (ii) Engaging in threatening conduct directed at the service provider or a person known to them;

     

    (iii) In any way recording a service provider, or a person accessing, or attempting to access a healthcare facility without that person’s consent, or publishing or distributing a recording so obtained, except in discharge of police duty;

     

    (iv) Recording information about a person accessing, or attempting to access, a healthcare facility without that person’s consent, or publishing or distributing information so obtained, except in discharge of police duty;

     

    (v) Distributing or displaying any leaflets, pamphlets, notices, advertisements or other documentation with the intent of influencing a person healthcare decisions;

     

    (vi) Affixing bills, posters or stickers upon any wall, door, pole, structure, vehicle, floor or pavement or any surface forming part of, or used in relation to a healthcare facility.

     

    (vii) Conducting or taking part in demonstrations or public gatherings relating to abortion services.

     

REPORT:

The power of a local authority to make byelaws is predicated on the assumption that such power is not used to take from or supplant existing legal provision. The proposal does not meet this test as it seeks to moderate public behaviour which is already in large part covered by existing civil and criminal law provision. In addition any definition of “prohibited behaviour” would need to have universal standing and as such should be defined within national legislation.