Ms Janice Donlon:

Our primary focus in the programme is to fund crisis pregnancy counselling services to provide non-directive and non-judgmental counselling. In that guise we do not direct funding or our services towards any one option because those options are there for the client's individual decision in respect of her crisis pregnancy and for her own particular set of circumstances. Absolutely there is information available for all clients should they seek information on adoption. As I said earlier, one of the services we fund has experience in adoption. We would certainly support women who make the decision to go down the road of adoption. All of the options are available to women. A woman comes to a counselling service in crisis. She comes in turmoil at what has happened to her. She cannot believe that she is pregnant and the counsellor's role is to support the woman through that crisis, to support her through the decisions she will make and support her in teasing out how those decisions will impact on her life. It is not directive counselling. It is not about the counsellor's opinion of what option may be best for the client. The counsellor's role is to support the client through her decision making process. Often the counselling services report that women consider many options through the counselling sessions.

Women attend more than one counselling session and are invited to attend more than one session until they are happy they have made the decision that is right for them at that point in their lives. None of our funding and none of our mandates in terms of what we tell services to do is about directing them towards a certain option. We would be going against the non-directive, non-judgmental counselling service provision if we did that.