Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 1 to amendment No. 44:

In subsection (2), to delete “unless the provider is satisfied that the relevant person, and each other relevant person, does not” and substitute “if the provider is aware that the relevant person, and each other relevant person, would”.

This amendment was proposed by AHR professionals. They have probably been in touch with the Minister. While they are fully supportive of efforts to ensure the welfare and safety of any child born through AHR, they are concerned about the implications of the current wording. They argue that AHR providers may not have the skills, expertise or means of access to sensitive data to fulfil this role. Furthermore, they suggest that over-investigation of a case by a provider may be inappropriate and could lead to discrimination of vulnerable groups. Instead, they call for a greater reliance on child protection laws. There is a question there of whether we are expecting too much of medical professionals who do not have access to data and if some other mechanism should be provided.