Dr. Peter Boylan:

With regard to the question on MRI services and Cork, it is important that a large hospital like Cork would have a ring-fenced budget that is solely devoted to women's healthcare and that they do not have to access services in a general hospital because that does not work. Women get bumped off waiting lists and they do not get equal access. It would be wonderful to have an MRI for women's healthcare in the southern region based in Cork, which is the largest unit. That would be a wonderful thing to happen and it should happen.

With regard to whether we have discussed conscientious objection with maternity units and the GP support mechanisms and community support mechanisms, that is why we need to get all the stakeholders around the one table to discuss the pathways of care, what is going to happen, who is going to do what and what funding is required to do the things that are required. Hopefully, we seem to be moving along a little bit, but we do need to sit around the table with everybody involved, namely, the Department of Health, the HSE, GP representatives, the institute, various hospitals and the primary care sector among others.