Dr. Peter Boylan:

Audit is part of running any service. It is very important that that information is collected in order to inform how the service is working and what improvements need to be made. Audit is critical in the running of any aspect of the health service. We have been tasked with providing information regarding guidelines around the content of the proposed legislation. Implementation of the service is a matter for the HSE and the Department of Health and that is where women from the North of Ireland fit in. Our job is not to arrange the provision of the service. Rather, that is a responsibility of the State. From now until the end of the year is the time for the interested groups to come together to discuss the issue because we have a very good idea of our guidelines and now need to know about the provision on the ground, which is where the Department of Health and the HSE come in.