Colm Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the psychiatrists for their contributions.

I want to raise the issue of their submission about the GP and the psychiatrist taking the decision on the psychiatric issue. The heads of the Bill refer to a joint decision between two psychiatrists and an obstetrician. The Medical Council talks about the two psychiatrists taking the decision and then the consultation with the obstetrician. Do the psychiatrists present have a problem with that proposal? If the decision was the Medical Council proposal would be taken on board, would the psychiatrists have concerns about that?

The second issue relates to the timescale. The psychiatrists stated that it should be amended to 72 hours. I refer to the smaller units and wonder whether 72 hours is adequate. If one takes for example someone who appears on a Friday evening of a bank holiday weekend, is there an availability of persons to take a decision in 72 hours? In dealing with that, I am merely thinking of such a scenario.

The third issue relates to the expectant mother under 18. What is the psychiatrists' proposal for putting a structure in place to deal with that adequately, both medically and legally; have they any views on how that should be dealt with?