Dr. Ciaran Craven:

Regarding Deputy Dowds's question, criminalising attempts raises serious practical issues in these circumstances. It is a policy matter as to whether it is in the public interest to pursue the issue. I do not differ particularly from Dr. Fletcher.

Regarding Senator Henry's point, I fear that I have been misunderstood. I was making a simple point that I may have put somewhat inelegantly. There are ethical imperatives in professional practice. There are legal imperatives that dovetail with them. There are objective standards. They are not questions of good faith. There have been episodes in which excessive reliance was placed on good faith and undue deference may have been paid to the profession. The point that I wished to make was a simple one and was from the perspective of 2013. The degree of deference one should have to the medical profession, I respectfully submit, should be tinged with a certain caution. This is why we have external regulatory bodies and oversight. Ms McDonagh has alluded to this issue in terms of the appointment of the psychiatrist, the convening authority, composition and funding of the committee and so on. Some kind of external oversight is necessary.

In so far as our hospitals are concerned, this is a generic point, as the standards are set externally by the Health Information and Quality Authority, HIQA. The standards promulgated by the professional bodies are evidence based, in so far as that is possible. The protection of the public safety, which is a question of assuring quality of care and ensuring that care is delivered safely, requires external oversight.

It seems to me this Bill does not necessarily give such oversight. That is the limit of the point I was seeking to make.