Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank Ms McDermott very much for attending the committee meeting. It is really important that she has come and she has told us her personal story. We were all probably horrified at the cold way in which she and her family were treated in the hospital. That would certainly be a cause of concern to all of us here. I refer also to the experiences that she described in the beginning of her presentation around women being asked at each appointment to consider abortion and women being contacted after their hospital appointment to change their minds.

Everyone present would view that as wrong and inappropriate. As Deputy Durkan stated, all counselling should be non-directive. There should be no attempt to make a woman make a decision that is not the one that is right for her.

My question is on this issue. Ms McDermott described that experience as well as her own, but that practice seems to have been at variance with medical guidelines. One Day More provided examples, although I only got them shortly before I arrived. They include the examples of Anna Kate, Grace and Laura. In each case, there seemed to be a more positive experience of the hospital's treatment. To what extent does Ms McDermott's group have information on the various ways in which people are treated in Irish maternity hospitals?

My next question is on perinatal care. We received a presentation in which that type of care at a particular maternity hospital was described. Everyone would be supportive of that as well as the case that Ms McDermott makes for high-quality support and pathways of care for pregnant women. In the experience of Ms McDermott's group, is there much difference in how women are treated by various hospitals? If so, what recommendations should our committee make in that regard?