Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I join others in welcoming Professor Murphy and Ms Spillane from the Irish Medical Council. I note that section 21.1 of the council's guidelines for registered medical practitioners states:

Abortion is illegal in Ireland except where there is a real and substantial risk to the life (as distinct from the health) of the mother. Under current legal precedent, this exception includes where there is a clear and substantial risk to the life of the mother arising from a threat of suicide. You should undertake a full assessment of any such risk in light of the clinical research on this issue.

That is the current situation as set out in the guidelines issued to the 18,000 registered members of the council. During Professor Murphy's contribution, he made the point that "clinical decision-makers must be registered in the specialist division of the register of medical practitioners". I presume that in many of the circumstances that present themselves, we are talking about obstetricians and gynaecologists. That must be one of the specialist divisions. Perhaps Professor Murphy can offer some clarification in that regard. I presume that psychiatry - Professor Murphy is a psychiatrist - is a specialist division within the register. Can he expand on that for us? A question arises immediately in that regard. Is the number of registered practitioners adequate? Are they present and available in all maternity settings in this jurisdiction 24 hours a day, seven days a week? It is critically important for us to be certain that sufficient qualified staff are available to carry out the various clinical decision-making responsibilities.