Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the officials for appearing before the committee and for their opening statement. The Minister has given an opinion to the effect that it might be possible to accommodate what is contained in the Private Members' Bill under the umbrella of existing legislation. How feasible is that? It is important that the information being made available to somebody where there could be health implications be accurate, fair and balanced and, importantly, not lead to health consequences that, for whatever reason, might impact on the women concerned at a later stage. Perhaps the witnesses would outline what they would regard as a crisis pregnancy. A number of situations come to mind. If I were a counsellor and I was anxious that the legislation would accurately reflect what I was doing, I would like to know exactly what I could and could not do. If the intention was to depart from what is legally compliant, what measures would be in place to collect or entrap the information that I was giving with a view to ensuring that it did not have a negative impact on the health or well-being of the women concerned? I say that against the background of a number of incidents that I can recall in recent years relating both to treatment in hospitals, following treatment or advice from individuals, and subsequent treatment by individuals, some of whom were professionals and some who were not. There should be a very careful assessment of who has the right to operate and of the guidelines, rules and regulations within which they must operate. It is not just a social issue. It is a health issue as well and it can have health and psychological consequences. What are the witnesses' views on that?

In the opening statement there is a reference to the crisis pregnancy counsellor not being a distinct profession. It probably is not a distinct profession but the advice given in that area will have to have some type of health or medical basis in certain circumstances. Not all circumstances are the same. There are different situations. Again, I can think of at least one situation where a certain set of circumstances prevailed. I do not know whether advice was or was not given or whether action was or was not taken, but certainly the consequences were serious for the individual.