Condoms will be sold for the first time over the counter in pharmacies without a prescription in the Republic of Ireland.
Des O'Malley tells RTÉ News about the new Family Planning Bill and the implications it has had north and south of the border.
Des O'Malley was expelled from Fianna Fáil in February 1985 after arguing against the party’s opposition to modest liberalisation of contraception laws in the Family Planning Bill. Prior to the enactment of the bill the sale of condoms was restricted to prescription only purchases.
Des O'Malley had been ejected from the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party in May 1984, when he opposed Charles Haughey's insistence that a united Ireland was the only solution to the Northern Ireland conflict. He was expelled from the party entirely in February 1985 for "conduct unbecoming", when he abstained as a now independent TD on a family planning bill on the availability of contraceptives.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 20 February 1985. The reporter is Charlie Bird.
