The Health Minister says he has a responsibility not to deviate from Ireland's decision on abortion.

He was speaking at the Kennedy Summer School in Wexford - as former Taoiseach John Bruton called for amendments to the proposed bill, saying religious freedom needs to be defended when it goes before the Dail.

Simon Harris says people knew what they were voting for last May and he's appealed for people not to re-start the debate.

On the Scally Report into the Cervical Check controversy, the Minister said he hopes the country's screening programmes can be improved and lessons learned from the report.

Simon Harris is meeting the report's author on Monday and will be briefing the women and families affected before it's published on Wednesday.