Sandra McLellan (Cork East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome our guests and thank them for their comprehensive presentations, in which they highlight and expose a large number of unacceptable and dangerous practices. I read the material provided last night and, to be honest, came across things which would never have previously come to mind. If one were to walk into one of these surgeries or beauty salons and see certificates on the wall, which indicate the relevant individual is fully registered with the Irish Medical Council, etc., rightly or wrongly, one would presume that the person in question was qualified to do the job one wanted him or her to do.

They have highlighted everything in great detail. The one that came to mind was moles being zapped without any analysis being done on them, with a knock-on effect further down the road in terms of skin cancer. One presumes, if one goes to a surgeon to have cosmetic surgery performed, that one is going to a qualified surgeon, not a medical doctor who is not a surgeon. Rightly or wrongly, I would have presumed that the people in question were qualified and I am sure many in the general population think the same and fail to take on board the bad practices and consequences waiting for them down the road.

What happens with complaints and where surgery goes wrong if we do not have databases and records? How are these things followed up? Have there been deaths attributable to bad practice? What happens in that instance? Is there an age of consent? Can young children undergo this surgery and are there consequences in that regard? I am interested in our guests' opinions on these issues. I thank them, as I have learned a great deal from their comprehensive presentations.