Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I have said it a few times, but just to repeat it, I am not satisfied with the level of information the committee received. I have been a member of the Joint Committee on Health myself and I have been on various other committees for a decade, and I am not satisfied with the level of information provided to the committee. It is something that I am going to be discussing.

With regard to the substance and most importantly, for the people who may be watching, a lot of time has been spent talking about what the appropriate approach is to appointing a chair to the committee. While I am not saying that is irrelevant, it is certainly not remotely the most important substance of what we are discussing here today. What we are discussing here today is a really important review. The review is kicking off. It has been designed around a pre-consultation we did with service providers, civil society and Members of the Oireachtas. There was a request for an independent chair. We are doing that. There was a request that the independent chair would have a rights-based and a legal background. We are doing that. There was a request that the chair would have access to all of the expertise they need. We are doing that. There was a request that there would be a very wide consultation. We are doing that. There are three strands to it. I think the most important parts in this have perhaps been overshadowed by a technical conversation around the appointment of a chair. Ultimately, this is an important review. I believe that there are gaps in service provision and operational aspects to the provision of these services that can be improved. This review is going to be a very comprehensive approach to doing that, required under statute, obviously. It will be very useful. In the meantime, there is a lot going on in terms of safe access zones, free contraception, the reviewing of adverse events to date when it comes to the termination of pregnancies, unprecedented investment in maternity, gynaecology and fertility services, and many other things. I think for anybody watching, that is a very important message for us to repeat.