Colm Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Thank you, Chairman, for the way you have managed the public hearings. They have been extremely well organised and conducted. I thank you and the staff for the work done. I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Alex White, and thank him for his contribution this evening.

I came to the hearings with reservations concerning two issues. I felt we had not done all of our homework on the heads of the Bill. The same two issues emerged as being of general concern. The first was head 4 and how the decision is arrived at by the two psychiatrists and the obstetrician making the decision. The proposals from the Medical Council and the College of Psychiatrists of Ireland should be taken on board. It is interesting to see that they are both coming out with the same view. The heads of the Bill do not adequately deal with cases where an expectant mother is under 18 years of age. The issue must be examined carefully.

It is interesting that it is our role to be legislators and that it is not the role of the courts. It is important to remind ourselves again of the words used by Mr. Justice McCarthy on page 82 of the judgment in the X case: "The failure by the Legislature to enact the appropriate legislation is no longer just unfortunate; it is inexcusable." That comment was made on 5 March 1992, more than 21 years ago, yet nothing has changed in the intervening period. We have a role to play as legislators and that is what we have done over the past three days. We have examined all of the angles on the preparation of the legislation we so urgently need to deal with the issue, and also to provide clarity to those who work in the medical profession.

I pay tribute to all of the experts who came before the committee, who gave of their time and who also put a lot of work into preparing the submissions. No one came before us without having carried out a detailed examination of what they had to say. They spent a long period putting their submissions together. No matter what angle they took – even if I disagreed with their views – everyone who came before the committee was extremely constructive.

On the completion of the hearings it is important to say to those in the medical profession that we are fortunate to have the lowest perinatal mortality rate in Europe. We should never forget that. It is the reason we must put supporting legislation in place to give clarity to those who provide the service on a daily basis, regardless of the time of the day or night they are required to provide the service. I thank the leaders of all of the groups for their constructive contributions throughout the three days.