Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Chair and sincerely apologise to him and all members for the delay. I had a different time that I was asked to be here. That is entirely on me, so I sincerely apologise to the Chair and colleagues.

I thank the committee for the opportunity to present the Human Tissue (Transplantation, Post-Mortem, Anatomical Examination and Public Display) Bill 2022 on Committee Stage. This Bill is important and will change the culture in our health services in some important ways. I acknowledge the broad support it has received from colleagues in the House on Second Stage.

The Bill essentially has provisions on four separate but related areas. The first is organ donation and transplantation, the second is post-mortem practices and procedures, the third is anatomical examination and the fourth is public display of bodies after death. It is somewhat of a miscellaneous Bill in that way.

The Bill seeks to embed in legislation the idea that consent is the defining principle in these matters, while also introducing a statutory framework for consent to organ donation with the critical aim of making organ donation the norm when individuals pass away in circumstances where donation is possible. This is important. We will essentially be moving from an opt-in organ donation system to an opt-out one. I am happy to share with colleagues the healthcare professionals working in organ donation are doing a commendable job. In the first quarter of this year, there was more successful organ donation than in any first quarter on record and I acknowledge the huge work done by our transplant teams, as well as all the care that goes around the patients and families. I also acknowledge the civil society organisations, including the Irish Kidney Association, the Irish Heart Foundation and others, that have advocated for this measure for a long time. We have several hundred people waiting this morning, some of whom might be watching these proceedings, who are waiting for an organ transplant. This Bill is undoubtedly going to increase the supply of organs for people and, as we know, these are lifesaving operations, so it is very positive legislation and I acknowledge the broad support in the Houses for it.

The Bill also includes provisions in respect of storage, handling, transportation, disposal and return of organs, tissues or body parts. The aim is to ensure these will be undertaken with due regard to the dignity, bodily integrity, and privacy of the deceased. As colleagues will be aware, Cabinet approval for publication of the Bill was given on 29 November 2022 and the Bill was subsequently published on 20 December 2022. The Bill passed Second Stage on 24 January.

I would like to outline the position on several amendments, some of which were part of the Government decision when the Bill was approved in November of last year, that will ensure the proper functioning of the legislation in line with the policy objectives. I will outline the detail of the amendments as they arise during our scrutiny of the Bill today and will flag several amendments that I will be introducing on Report Stage.

First, I intend to amend the Coroners Act to provide for the regulation of the retention, storage use, disposal, and return of organs and tissue from deceased persons following all post-mortems in hospital settings including those directed by a coroner. This will improve communication with families and will address issues with regard to material removed and retained by providing parity of regulation for the management and final treatment of material retained for post-mortem examination in line with clinical practice and updated HSE National Clinical Guidelines for Post Mortem Examination Services 2023.

Second, I propose to introduce amendments to expand HIQA's role to include monitoring of regulations for post-mortem examinations that take place in locations other than in hospitals. This would include, for example, Dublin City Mortuary. This will be done by making several amendments to section 52, which will in turn amend the Health Act 2007. I will be making an amendment to the Health Act 2004 to expand protected disclosure provisions to HIQA to include disclosures made to the authority relating to its roles to monitor compliance with regulations under the human tissue Bill and coroners Act.

Third, I will be bringing in an amendment to reflect changes relating to the legal framework of capacity and consent brought in by the commencement of the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) (Amendment) Act 2022. If the Chair or members of the committee would like technical briefings ahead of Report Stage, because it is obviously a different setting and format to this, they should let me know and we can arrange either formal or informal briefings with officials.