Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State for making it clear this evening in his closing statement what these heads of Bill are about.

The time is right for this Bill. We have seen it over the past three days. It has been a privilege to be here. I have been proud to be in the Chamber with Members, those on the committee and those who are not.

I have been moved and touched by many statements that have been made. Most of all, I want to express how proud I am of the experts who have been here from all walks of life, whether doctors, medical experts, lawyers or whoever. It shows the considerable expertise in this country and the pride we should have in our systems, whether medical or legal.

Our role of the past three days was to listen and learn - that was my role anyway and I am sure it was that of the members of the committee as well - because we can only learn if we listen to each other. We learn wisdom, we learn understanding and, above all, we learn compassion.

As I stated, the heads of the Bill are about having compassion for those who find themselves in a very difficult place. Whether in the Dáil, in the community or at home, now and again, we all must have a bit of compassion.

My focus over the past few days was on saving women's lives as well as the life of the unborn. It was made very clear by doctors here that their job is to save lives, whether it is the mother or the unborn. That came across clearly to me.

On whether the heads of the Bill go too far or go far enough, one aspect that stood out which is not in the heads of the Bill was that foetal abnormality was raised on a number of occasions by many in the Chamber. Many of the calls I received have been about that issue. As to whether it deserves consideration at this time, I am not too sure.

The role of GPs, which was referred to by many Members here, is most important. The GP, for anybody, whether a mother, a father or a child, is the first port of call. We need to rely on the expertise of the GPs. In my view, that is honest and open.

I still believe in good faith. It is important in everyone's life to believe that when one puts one's life in the hands of someone else, they will look after one and do the best they can. That is what we do as committee members, as Members of the Dáil and as legislators; we do our best. We may not always be right but we do our best and, consequently, the people decide to elect us on good faith.

I found the arguments on both sides to be at times interesting, at times offensive but above all, genuine. I mean this with the greatest of respect. No one in this room, regardless of what side of the fence he or she is on, wishes to see people losing their children at any stage or time and there is general concern about the mother and the child. One must consider all these viewpoints because I know I have. As I stated, members have listened to the experts, including the masters of the maternity hospitals, and others. I believe that on a daily basis, they will be the people who will make the decisions. It will not be those who are sitting in this Chamber and nor will it be a piece of paper. However, it will be what actually is done when someone arrives into their accident and emergency units.

I was filled with great pride to see people appear before the joint commitment but above all, by Mrs. Justice Catherine McGuinness. She is a woman of wisdom and great presence who has done this country a huge service even through her presence here, which I greatly appreciate. I will finish by thanking the Chair. While it is difficult to chair any kind of meeting, it is especially difficult when there are widely differing views. However, I believe he handled this task with care. I also thank the Oireachtas staff and my other colleagues on the joint committee, as well as those who were not on the joint committee and those who have just arrived on the committee. They have all done a wonderful job, even though they sometimes took over my time. I also thank the witnesses, the people in the Visitors' Gallery, all the former Members of the Oireachtas who attended and especially, the people at home.