Colm Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Ms Fitzpatrick for her presentation which I read before the meeting. She refers to regulatory issues. I understand all infertility clinics are registered with the Irish Medicines Board, which applies strict criteria when carrying out inspections of clinics. Is that not the case? I also understand that inspections take two or three days and involve going through every item, including all protocols and policy documents, and checking all information. It is important to send out the message that high standards apply to all clinics operating here and that they are all supervised by the Irish Medicines Board.

In the case of the closure to which Ms Fitzpatrick referred, I understand the clinic in question closed due to the ill health of the person who was running it. This has been explained, although I accept Ms Fitzpatrick's point about the work it was doing being transferred to another clinic without consent. The issue had to be dealt with in an expeditious manner, however, to ensure no one was left in limbo.

Does Ms Fitzpatrick envisage an expanded role for the Irish Medicines Board, rather than having another regulatory authority become involved, especially as the IMB already does much work in this area?