Paul Gavan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank Mr. Thompson for his presentation. The committee has received consistently high-quality presentations. I was struck by the large number of facts and statistics. It gives a very good insight into practice in Britain. I thank him for that.

I am not sure if Mr. Thompson can comment on this, but I will ask anyway. We have had medical professionals from Ireland and Britain, people whose job is to care for women and their babies. They have been consistent - Mr. Thompson has been just as consistent today - in highlighting that we should trust medical professionals. The witnesses from Ireland, including the masters from the Rotunda Hospital and the National Maternity Hospital, Holles Street, have been consistent in saying that the current laws are restrictive and a danger to women's health. Why does Mr. Thompson believe that the medical professionals, the people whose jobs are to care for our loved ones, are so consistent in this message that the current set-up in Ireland does not work for women?