Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I apologise, but we acceded to their request and they are here because it has been facilitated. The National Women's Council speaks for me on most issues and I do not believe its funding structure is a matter for the Joint Committee on Health.

I note people getting very exercised on the issue of abortion who are never exercised about any other aspect of women's health care. It all comes down to one element for which, with respect to all of the people here and their views, there is an ideological difference between some of us. The fact is, however, women cannot access a 20-week scan. I would love to live in a country where men and women got exercised about the way that we let women down continuously but regrettably, it seems that level of hysteria can only be reached when discussing access to abortion services. These people are not here to answer for the funding structure and it is not the business of this committee to interrogate that.