Ms Marie O'Shea:

One of the major barriers is workforce. We have a shortage of consultants and GPs. On recruitment of consultants, I gather that the recruitment process can be a little blurry in terms of whether people feel when they are – I know the job specification now does specify termination of pregnancy but whether at interview a person can be asked about their willingness to provide the service. I think there should be some clarity in the legislation or ministerial guidelines that would state that, yes, everyone has a right to conscientious objection but the right has to be balanced. In terms of recruitment, I think that it should be balanced and that the employer, in fairness, should be able to ask somebody whether they are comfortable doing this. If the employers cannot do that, if they cannot target recruitment, but at the same time they have a statutory duty to provide a service, they could be in a pretty odd place.

There are parts of the country where consultants are less likely to want to work. I understand that there have been some issues with recruitment of consultants. Perhaps consultants could be incentivised in those areas. Perhaps they could be given protected time for research or education to improve the workforce base.

There is a shortage of GPs in the country. That is acknowledged by the Irish College of General Practitioners, ICGP. One of the issues here is that excessive workload that they carry. The Government can do all it can to help the ICGP in terms of recruitment. The Act does state in section 12 that the only people who can provide the services are medical practitioners. Sections 9 to 11 require a consultant input. It may not be necessary. One could expand the range of workers who could be trained to deliver these services under the Act. That would require legislative change as well. There is a precedent for that in New Zealand. The World Health Organisation guidance, which is evidence based, would very much support expanding the range of workers who can provide the services.