Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator. To be clear, I was not talking about myself but rather my officials. It does not mean any of us gets everything right all the time but I just wanted to make that statement.

On the Senator's substantive point, I believe there are gaps. I need to be very careful not to pre-empt this work but there are geographical gaps, for example. That is quite clear. We do not have services fully available across our 18 maternity units, and that is a very serious matter that must be looked at. Senator Black raised a really important question about marginalised and vulnerable groups and I want that looked at to ensure there is provision and support for them. I would like to know why we still have several hundred women travelling to the UK. Maybe that is because they are travelling for reasons simply not covered under the Act. If they are travelling for services provided for under the Act, it is very important we understand why that is the case and what may be the barriers.

There are many areas we must look at, including geography, demography and healthcare provision around the country.