Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the speakers for their presentations. In particular, I thank Dr. Coulter Smith for his statistics, which give a context to what we are talking about. He said there were five to six terminations in the Rotunda in the last 12 months. Is it likely there would be a higher rate in a hospital such as the Rotunda because it is a tertiary referral hospital? Has he any indication of the numbers we are talking about on an annual basis?

Second, Dr. Coulter Smith made the point that one in every 500,000 women presents with suicidal tendencies during pregnancy, based on UK figures. Has there been any research on whether termination, where one has taken place, has increased or reduced the suicidal tendency, or whether it acts as a cure for that suicidal tendency?

Third, the point was made that there is a need for a referral pathway to be put in place for decision making in the case of smaller maternity hospitals. I thank Dr. McCaffrey and Dr. Monaghan for being present. They are based at two of the smaller hospitals, with Dr. Monaghan based at Portiuncula Hospital in Ballinasloe. To refer them back to the evidence we received earlier from the Medical Council, it was said there should not be specific provision for emergencies, yet Dr. McCaffrey broke her presentation into three categories in which she specifically talked about emergency situations and made the point, in regard to second opinions, that a physical signatory should not be required in an emergency situation. Can the witnesses comment on the evidence the Medical Council has given to us? In particular, I would like to hear Dr. Monaghan's view on the statement by the Medical Council. There is a genuine fear among people who are serviced by the smaller maternity hospitals that this could be constructed in such a way as to reduce capacity or result in the amalgamation of some of the smaller maternity hospitals into more regional centres.