Ciara Conway (Waterford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank our guests for their very interesting presentations on the heads of the Bill.

My first question is for Dr. O'Riordan on GP practice. It is great that she is present today because she is correct that for most women who are pregnant their first point of contact, be it a crisis pregnancy or a planned one, is with their local GP. It is important, therefore, that she is present. To ensure that as a country we are compliant with international human rights law and that women can exercise their right under the Constitution, the legislation must guarantee a clear referral pathway and timeframes for terminations that can take place, in particular under head 2. Is that something Dr. O'Riordan would agree that we need to include under head 2? Should the legislation state that the Minister shall make regulations regarding timely and appropriate referral pathways from primary to tertiary care, but also including self-referral? GPs will probably know more than others the time delays that can be experienced by people trying to get access to specialist services. That should be integral to the legislation. The evidence also shows that if there is a time delay in a woman getting access to treatment it could have lifelong detrimental consequences for her.

My second question is for Dr. Sadlier. In the submission under head 10 he refers to it being overly prescriptive in terms of the review of practice. Are we not in the aftermath of a situation where because no reviews were carried out on obstetric practices in a particular hospital in this country that women have to suffer lifelong consequences? We cannot discount that. Is it Dr. Sadlier’s view that the Irish Medical Organisation came to the conclusion because there is a chilling effect and because of the criminalisation sanctions it places on doctors? Is that the concern of the organisation when it refers to the potential review process being overly prescriptive?