Ciara Conway (Waterford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank Dr. Burke for his comments and he summed up the debate very well.

I come from Waterford which is a small service - it might dispute that - but I mean in comparison with the ones that we heard about earlier today. I would like to clarify the following matter. If a woman has a pre-existing medical condition is it most likely that she will be referred to Dublin or the specialists? The super specialties cannot be in every hospital. They are in Cork University Hospital or one of the specialist hospitals in Dublin. Is it not good practice for a woman with a cardiac problem, regardless of whether she is pregnant, to be sent to the most senior cardiologist to get whatever specific care necessary? A pregnant woman should also enjoy such specialist care. Is that the current practice in small hospitals? My feeling is that it is but perhaps it is worth saying.

I want Dr. Monaghan to clarify a matter. He said that maternal deaths were higher in the UK and he asserted that this is directly linked to the fact that abortion is available in the UK. Is that what he said? I am not sure about the correlation. If I picked him up wrong, I apologise. However, I would appreciate some clarification on that point.