The Health Minister's been accused of patronising women - after he thanked the Two Women Travel Twitter account.
The women made headlines around the world as they live-tweeted their journey to England for an abortion at the weekend.
In a statement this afternoon, the women said Minister Harris should be ashamed of himself 'chatting about the despair of Irish women' when he's seen the devastating effects of their exile.
Our response to Mr. Harris is as follows
"It seems that you wanted to be the first boy in government to extend your condolences to us. Your condolences mean nothing when you maintain the citizens assembly as the solution. The 8th amendment needs to be repealed NOW, today, five minutes ago. Chatting about the despair of Irish women when you have seen the devastating effects of our exile is so patronising, you should be ashamed of yourself. The citizens assembly is a stalling tactic so the Irish government won't have to face reality. If we get the assembly, when will it conclude? What will happen when it concludes? How long will we wait for a referendum? How long then for services to come into place in the case of repeal? Stop insulting Irish women. Just because you watched the journey of two unfold on twitter does not entitle you to patronise the 12 other a day who are travelling RIGHT NOW, because you refuse to accept our needs.
And also, we were talking to Enda, not Simon."
On Sunday, Simon Harris tweeted his thanks to the women, and said the CitizensÂ’ Assembly would discuss the matter of repealing the 8th amendment in the next few weeks.
Thanks to @TwoWomenTravel for telling story of reality which faces many. Citizens Assembly - a forum to discuss 8th & make recommendations
— Simon Harris TD (@SimonHarrisTD) August 21, 2016
Minister Simon Harris also says it would not be appropriate for Independent Alliance TDs to vote for a referendum abortion this autumn.
Juliette Gash reports:
