Dr. Tony Holohan:

No, I think it would be most unsafe for us to expand on what the requirements of medical practice would be. Based on my confidence in the profession and in the colleges, it is appropriate and reasonable that we leave matters of professional practice and guidance to the doctors themselves.

Deputy Terence Flanagan referred to the type of abortion, and I think some points were made earlier - I may have forgotten to cover this particular point - on the procurement of abortion services by way of Internet access and so on. The legislation does not deal in any way with the method through which termination is effected. All forms of termination, however effected, will be covered by the legislation. It does not talk about obstetric interventions necessarily, or surgical interventions. HIQA, along with a number of other organisations, as part of our ongoing preparatory work, were involved in discussions.