Dr. Tony Holohan:

The Deputy is quite correct. That is something we accept and will look at. In the spirit of what the Minister said about looking at some of these technicalities that will improve the operation of the legislation, that is, in a sense, what these hearings are about.

Deputy Mattie McGrath asked about abortion and suicidal ideation. I understand that the College of Psychiatrists of Ireland will make a statement and present itself for questioning, as will a number of other psychiatrists. There are widely held and sometimes conflicting views among psychiatrists. The Supreme Court judgment in the X case has created a requirement for us to make provision for this situation, which is what we have done.

As to the issue of a child requiring care, we already have appropriate arrangements for children where other arrangements - for example, normal parenting and so forth - do not provide such care. This legislation neither adds to nor takes away from that situation.