Professor Kieran Murphy:

Deputy Timmins also asked questions about our guidance. I hope I have addressed the issue of how the Medical Council constructs its guidance without having to go over it again.

To respond to Deputy Mathews, as I indicated earlier, it is extremely important, as the Taoiseach has said on numerous occasions and the Minister of Health agreed, that doctors have legal clarity when making clinical decisions. The role of legislators, I submit, is to ensure that they can provide doctors with that legal clarity. Once that legal clarity has been established, it will be up to professional bodies, including the Medical Council, to draft guidance that will assist in the implementation of this new legislation.