Professor Jim Egan:

On the point raised by Deputy Catherine Byrne, unequivocally it will never happen that organs will be harvested without permission. The key terminology is "soft". This is a soft opt-out proposal which means the wishes of the family will remain to the front and at the centre of the whole process.

On Senator Feargal Quinn's comments, it is accepted internationally that there are substantial financial benefits to be accrued from transplantation. We have seen business cases proposed in the United Kingdom which underpin its substantial investment of almost £60 million in organ donation and transplantation. The United Kingdom sees this as a cost effective and cost neutral process. This is about preventing people from spending time on dialysis and saving money through the use of appropriate measures.

On Deputy Sandra McLellan's point on Northern Ireland, given that the population of the Republic of Ireland is 4.5 million and that the population of Northern Ireland is 1.8 million, it is eminently sensible that there be synergy from the point of view of the cost effectiveness of our working with our colleagues in Northern Ireland. We need to be on a sensible platform in that regard. As we have heard, they are way ahead from an infrastructural perspective. We need to get to a comparable position. We could then seek to work closely with them.