Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Midwives for Choice and the Midwives Association of Ireland have made very comprehensive submissions on the matter which members may benefit from reading thoroughly. It was suggested that enabling nurses and midwives to do what many of them are trained to do, which is to prescribe, would somehow be dangerous. I do not agree. Although I do not want to put words in his mouth, I assume that even if he rejects the amendment the Minister would not agree with that either. Nurses and midwives very safely and competently deliver healthcare in a range of settings. Our amendment does not seek to expand the provision of the service to nurses and midwives by tomorrow morning. We are trying to make available the option for that to be done because they are a group of front-line healthcare professionals who feel that they have been left out of this debate to some extent. It is about expanding the service once it is bedded in and ensuring that anyone who can competently provide a service that women need is empowered to provide that service. It would not necessarily happen overnight but I am conscious that such practitioners are being precluded from providing such services. The amendment aims to make that option available. As I stated, Midwives for Choice and the Midwives Association of Ireland have made very comprehensive submissions which, along with the WHO documentation, could inform the discussion and deliberations between now and Report Stage. We do not argue that it should not be a GP-led service initially, but are trying to ensure there are no barriers to nurse prescribers providing the service once it is rolled out and more embedded.