Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The observation that services in the United Kingdom are under strain was made several times. Do the delegates have any particular concerns in that regard? I noted their points about the extra trauma caused to families by the need to travel. Has any consideration been given to the further trauma that would arise if parents have to travel beyond to the UK to a jurisdiction where English is not the first language? Are there possible implications in this regard arising from Brexit?

The delegates have raised very strongly the need to decriminalise the provision of pregnancy termination services. It is not one of the recommendations we are looking at, although I am increasingly of the view it will absolutely have to be centre stage. The witnesses described very clearly the chilling effect of the eighth amendment on clinicians. How is that issue addressed in gynaecological training? Is it something that comes up in the course of training young doctors?

We need to be somewhat careful when discussing resourcing issues. Do the delegates agree there already is an under-resourcing of maternity services? I am aware that claims for hundreds of millions of euro have been lodged against the State. Against that backdrop, we must be careful of saying that the provision of anomaly scans and abortion services will have resource implications. It is not an either-or situation. I am not saying the witnesses were suggesting otherwise, but we do need some clarity on the necessity of having adequate resources in place to provide best care for women in that context. It would be helpful if this issue were addressed today. The delegates' presentations were very clear and their standpoint as clinicians and medical practitioners, where they have said there is a risk to women and women's health by our continuing with current policy, could not have been clearer.