Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

There are different views on what the people actually voted on in the referendum. They were faced with a binary question. The Minister is correct when he clarifies that the people voted on the deletion of the eighth amendment. That is also the view of Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy and the Referendum Commission.

A doctor-led service was central to the advocation of repeal by the Minister and others. A Google search would reveal a couple of hundred examples of it having been repeatedly stated that this would be a doctor-led service. Last night, I spoke to a midwife about this issue. She stated that there has been no consultation with midwives regarding the provision of abortion in Ireland. If we were to go down that route, it would be logical and good governance and legislative practice that people would be consulted before being tasked with a role. Indeed, the lack of consultation with doctors is also a difficulty. Approximately 650 doctors have stated that they wanted to have proper consultation on this issue before the legislation proceeded. On that basis, it would be better not to widen the range of medical professionals who can provide this particular service. Issues regarding patient safety and medical insurance have also been flagged.