Ms Mary Jackson:

I take Deputy Byrne's point. The thrust in legislating for the opt-out or soft opt-out system is not meant to undermine trust or change our wonderful system, given the doctors' descriptions of what happens. Patients and their families must be put at the centre of everything. We want to consult on how best to implement a soft opt-out system so that we can get it right and take everyone's concerns into consideration.

Members of the Irish Kidney Association are present in the Gallery. I took Mr. Murphy's main point to be that we should not concentrate on the cold words of legislation alone, but on the practical elements, for example, proper infrastructure and people who can do the job of getting consent and maximising organ donation well.

Given the cost of implementation, Ireland faces a particular problem in setting up a register of donors, be it a register of opt-ins or opt-outs. Experience in the UK shows a low number of registrations, approximately 28%. Nor do we have a unique health identifier, which is another problem for legislation. If there are five Mary Jacksons living in my locality, how do I know who is who on the register? The practical, logistical and cost implications cannot be overlooked when putting a system in place.