Dr. Mary Favier:

For the information of Deputy O'Reilly, there is a significant amount of international evidence to show that the better the collection and monitoring of data, the better the provision will be. We are in a difficult circumstance in Ireland in that we are beginning with almost no such data. We must very carefully extrapolate from the data from other countries. The World Health Organization, WHO, has very good guidance on what type of data should be collected. Patient and doctor confidentiality and the new GDPR recommendations must be considered. For instance, every doctor's Medical Council number must currently be attached under the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act. Many such requirements must be teased out in terms of whether they are necessary and why they are there. No data which could identify a woman can be collected but that leaves much to explore. Good data will be of great importance in terms of implementation and planning.