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

I have spoken to doctors and I do not think they are looking for legislation, but that they do want it defined. Perhaps the ones I am talking to are not the same as to ones to whom the Minister is speaking and perhaps we should swap over. It makes more sense for the definition to be in the guidelines rather than in legislation. The wording should be changed to say "will be provided for in the definitions and the terms will be provided for in the guidelines rather than in legislation". As 28 days is a set period inclusive of a set number of minutes, going over that may put a doctor in a situation in which he or she is risking his or her licence to practice. That is what we meant by a chilling effect when we spoke earlier. It refers to cases where a doctor wants to act in good faith and has reasonably formed an opinion. While I appreciate fully that doctors are looking for certainty, codifying this in legislation is not the answer. It is better provided for in the guidelines.