Kate O'Connell (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Yes. It was a significant day and I will never forget it. I remember asking the consultant a very straight and direct question. I am prone to asking direct questions.

When I asked if this was grounds for a termination - I had not discussed this with my husband who was sitting beside me - she said "No" but when I asked if I could have an amniocentesis so I might know what I was dealing with her answer was that that was no problem. My experience was completely different. At no point of my journey did anyone suggest to me that I would be better off starting again and so on. That never was the case. I did not have a fatal foetal diagnosis, rather I had a complex physical defect, possibly combined with genetic defects, that would have lead to a fatal foetal diagnosis. I am not trying to diminish Ms McDermott's situation. My situation turned out to be very positive in that my child had no genetic defect and is now alive and seven years old. Throughout that process, I was assisted by doctors in one of our leading maternity hospitals in keeping my son alive in the best in uteroconditions possible. For example, I ensured I had the best possible healthy lifestyle and that I took adequate rest because as we all know the longer the child remains in uterothe better the outcome.

Ms McDermott mentioned Dr. Oslizlok, the paediatric heart surgeon in Our Lady's Children's Hospital. In my experience as a pharmacist - as my pharmacy is open late and located near a maternity hospital I tend to have more experience in this area than other pharmacies - the diagnosis of cardiac conditions pre-natal are used to the benefit of the survival of the child. I am not a cardiologist. In the case of a diagnosis at 22 weeks of a chamber not forming correctly that information is used by cardiologists to monitor the pregnancy, by scanning every couple of weeks, to see if the situation improves. Often such problems rectify themselves. Also, it is possible to treat in utero. It is often argued that scanning and diagnosis leads to children with abnormalities being discarded. I would argue that scanning and diagnosis helps children survive because it allows all involved, including parents, to know what they are dealing with.

Ms McDermott mentioned to Deputy Chambers that they are 25 people in her group. Is that correct?