Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We have been tremendously well served by the attendance today of Professor Malone and Dr. Mahony. Their evidence, candour and professionalism in their work deserves our praise. Deputy Mattie McGrath made a glib comment about what the Rotunda Hospital is doing wrong. While I agree with Senator Mullen that we should not allow third parties to be named here, equally we should not allow members of the committee to make glib one-line statements or to quote reports like that from Duke University, which is open to all kinds of interpretation when it comes to data collection, as Professor Malone quite rightly pointed out. If we are going to use statistics and reports then there is a duty on all of us, whatever our position on the matter, to do so in a manner that is honest and credible. We can all use statistics to bolster any argument we want.