Jerry Buttimer (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As Chairman of the committee, I have probably spoken the least in the last few days. We have had almost 30 hours of hearings, 40 expert witnesses appeared before us and on average, between 18 and 20 Members of the Oireachtas have participated in the discussion on the heads of the protection of life during pregnancy Bill. I wish to address my remarks to two audiences, if I may. First, to the people who are watching and listening at home, whether on Twitter, journal.ie or the Oireachtas website, what we have been doing over the course of three days is discussing the draft heads of a Bill. This is a draft document which sets out the objectives and the main provisions of that proposed Bill. It provides a framework, but not the detail. It is not the final Bill, as the Minister of State has said. It is not the new law but rather a preliminary document which is to be used to facilitate discussion and consideration before producing the Bill. It is part of a pre-legislative consultative process. I am very heartened by the number of people who have listened to and followed this debate through a variety of media and I wish to thank them for that.

In reforming the Houses of the Oireachtas, this Government has referred heads of Bills to committee. Indeed, this is not the first time our committee has considered a Bill on this basis.

It is and can be seen to be a democratisation of the legislative process, allowing stakeholders, us as members, and other experts and outsiders to have a real input into the preparation of proposed legislation. The entire purpose of this pre-legislative consultative process has been, I hope, to facilitate further consideration of the drafting of the Bill, which will ultimately be presented to the Oireachtas.

At the request of Government, this committee agreed to hold a series of hearings to examine the heads of the protection of life during pregnancy Bill. In carrying out this task the committee decided, as a group, to concentrate on the legal and medical issues which arise from the outline document. In doing this we have been greatly assisted by many experts who have voluntarily given of their time so that they could share their knowledge, experience and views.

Our expert witnesses have highlighted many issues, some which need further consideration, others which will require further clarification and more that are viewed as positive contributions to the law in this difficult and sensitive area. I know that all of the contributions made at our hearings and the detail obtained during questioning will be of valuable assistance when the committee is preparing its report for Government.

Our three days of hearings have been another example of how our Parliament can function. Members of the Oireachtas are capable of holding detailed hearings on sensitive social and political matters. Members of both Houses are capable of doing so in a way that is respectful and tolerant. In particular I hope that this has helped to portray the constructive way the Houses of the Oireachtas operate, especially at committee level.

I pay tribute to all Members and expert witnesses who have contributed over the past three days. The way they have conducted themselves, being considerate and respectful, has allowed the committee to do its work. This approach has allowed Members to gather information, to ask questions, and to probe on particular issues in the absence of tension or unnecessary and unhelpful rancour. I thank all those who appeared before the committee for their time and very helpful contributions. It really is appreciated by me and all members, and we are genuinely grateful for their assistance.

I thank my colleagues in the Oireachtas, who are not members of the Joint Committee on Health and Children, for the way they have all discussed the issues and raised their own concerns. Their contributions have been appreciated by their colleagues who are members of the committee. In particular I thank Senators Mullen and Walsh for their assistance in the lead up to the committee meetings and in helping to organise our hearings. I say that most genuinely to them.

I thank my colleagues on the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health and Children for their dedication and commitment over the past three days. Also, I appreciate the role they have played in the lead up to these hearings. The way these hearings have been conducted reflects the professional approach which is consistently demonstrated at all of our committee meetings.

I hope we have also shown that different political parties and groups can constructively work together. I thank Deputies Kelleher, Ó Caoláin and Conway - Vice Chairman of the committee - as representatives of their respective political parties, along with my Fine Gael colleagues, and Deputy Healy and Senator van Turnhout for the Technical Group and Independent Members. I appreciate the support they have given to the Chair, not just in the past three days, but in the lead-up to the hearings.

A considerable team has helped the Oireachtas Members in preparing these hearings. It has been dedicated, working weekends, including bank-holiday weekends and working long into the night, including past midnight. I thank the clerk, Mr. Paul Kelly, and his team, Ms Paula Cowan, Ms Mary Lindsay and Mr. Colm Duffy, for their efforts and work in the past few weeks and the long days they have had to put in. We very much appreciate that. I also thank the staff from the committee secretariat of the Houses of the Oireachtas, who are not assigned directly to our committee yet gave immense support to the clerk and his team during and in advance of these hearings.

I thank the Superintendent, Captain of the Guard and their ushers for their tremendous co-operation and assistance not just to Members of the House but also to our expert witnesses. I thank the staff in the Editor of Debates office, broadcasting and communications units, our sound engineers and the staff of the Library & Research Service for their support. I also thank our consultant, Mr. Michael O' Sullivan, who has been working with us and will continue to do so next week when we go through the written submissions. I also thank the members of the parliamentary legal service for their support and members of the media, who have been here in large numbers for the past three days and have broadcast our proceedings. I thank the Seanad office, the Seanad Committee on Procedure and Privileges, the Cathaoirleach and the Leader for allowing us to use this august Chamber as a fitting venue for what we have been doing over the past three days. I thank all of our witnesses and Members for their exemplary conduct, and the thoughtful and respectful way they have made their contributions.

The committee will now compile a report on our hearings and the many written submissions we have received. When this report is completed it will then be presented to Government for its consideration. I hope and I trust that these hearings will provide much assistance in the final drafting the Bill which will be presented to the Oireachtas. I thank the Minister, Deputy Reilly, the Minister of State, Deputy White, and officials from the Department of Health.

I again thank everybody for their participation and their continued work in our committee.