Dr. Clíona Murphy:

I will answer some of those questions. With regard to whether we are in agreement on the January timeline, we are in agreement that it is a tight timeline. We are in agreement that lots of different measures need to be taken before then and a lot of integration needs to be done. We do not say it is impossible but that it will be difficult. That needs to be acknowledged and a great deal of work needs to be done between now and then to get a service up and running. The only thing the IOG has been tasked with so far is the development of guidelines. There is much more to do on the development of guidelines. We can say what doses of medication are required at a different gestation point but there are many other pieces of the mix that need to be put in place and that requires talking to all stakeholders. The committee is hearing that message today.

With regard to the three-day wait, it is ultimately a legislative issue. Our point is not to put additional barriers in front of women and to acknowledge that internationally only 10% of women who are offered counselling go for it. Most have done a lot of decision-making before making first contact. We must be conscious of the time it could take if there is a three-day wait and an additional visit. Ultimately, it is a legislative issue.

With regard to the feasibility issue, similar to the January timeline issue, we are not all of the same opinion. There are conflicting opinions even among our members and among various GPs. Within the ICGP, there is lots of discussion still being had. We are not all of the same opinion on every issue. There are some issues we are still considering and on which we need consultation with other medical practitioners, for example, regarding the administration of anti-D to rhesus negative women and whether it would be given at eight weeks or only over nine weeks. Issues such as that on their own still require consultation. If we add up all the issues in a complex roll-out, there is lots to be discussed in various fora. We totally concur with the Deputy's remarks on accessibility and with other speakers that women have to be the focus of this and not necessarily the practitioners. We must all be focused as multidisciplinary teams on dealing with the development of the best services for women.