Brian Walsh (Galway West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for their very helpful, valuable and insightful contributions to the proceedings this morning. Dr. Anthony McCarthy's contributions in January were equally insightful. To what extent does he believe that his contributions were taken on board in the drafting of the heads of the Bill that have been presented? He expressed very serious concerns on the national airwaves about the prospect of vulnerable pregnant women having to present in front of a panel of psychiatrists and obstetricians. He went on to say, subsequent to the interview he gave to "Morning Ireland", that he felt that many of his peers from the College of Psychiatrists would be very reluctant to engage in that process. Is there a fear that the void that creates - if it does create a void - could be filled by more liberal-thinking psychiatrists? Have the heads of the Bill, as presented, allayed any of the concerns of Dr. McCarthy?

My second question is more general. Can a trend be identified in research over the past ten or 15 years relating to abortion and women's mental health? I note that the Royal College of Psychiatrists in the UK issued a report in 2008 which very much departed from its earlier position on this issue. The college warned of the risk of mental health breakdown in women who underwent an abortion. Does the panel consider that such a change in position reflects in any way a trend in the findings of research over the last ten or 15 years?