Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

This section is one of the areas of relatively little contention. On foot of the expert view report what struck me was that no accurate statistics were available in respect of the number of medical terminations in Irish maternity hospitals. Arising from section 7 of the Bill, there is provision for the reporting of certified entitlement to terminations and the appropriate institution will be reporting to the Minister. That will be an improvement.

Reference to the excellent level of care in Irish hospitals is acknowledged. It was distasteful when outside parties commenting on the tragic circumstances of Savita Halappanavar's death raised the correlation between it and the level of care in Irish hospitals. In regard to that particularly difficult case, we will not know the number of cases in which a person may have sought a termination but was denied it. I think that is a weakness in arriving at the overall picture. Will the Minister comment on it please?

In line ten of page 9, section 7(2)(b) states: "the other shall be a medical practitioner of a relevant speciality." I raise this point in the context of the smaller maternity units around the country in which two medical practitioners are required to have certified the procedure. Would it not be appropriate for the wording to be tightened up to reflect that the "relevant speciality" is a specialty relevant to the pregnancy woman's medical circumstances? It may be the case that a woman in one of the co-located maternity hospitals will have at her immediate disposal, all of the relevant medical specialties that are necessary to care in a comprehensive way for a woman who might present with difficulties in which the risk of the loss of her life emerges. It might be the case in one of the smaller units that they do not have oncology, neurology or the medical specialty that may impinge on her life. It might be appropriate to change that wording to a specialty relevant to the pregnant woman's medical circumstances rather than just a - - - -