Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
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I thank and welcome the Minister and Ms Luddy. We have been looking for this session to take place for some months and it is the eleventh hour in terms of the timescale within which the Minister is legally required to arrange the review. We are up against it and in the last three or four weeks before the legal deadline. The preparation for this meeting in terms of the information provided has been unsatisfactory and getting the terms of reference an hour into the meeting makes if difficult to consider them. Some members had to ask their questions before we got them. I am unhappy with the way the Department has handled this. It ties our hands very much.

It is a strange way to go about a review where the terms of reference are determined, the first phase of review is under way and the chair of the review is only being appointed to deal with the second phase. Generally in a well-arranged review, a chair would be identified and consulted on the terms of reference, scope and phasing of the review. It is a mistake that so many key decisions were taken by the Minister or somebody unknown in the Department. There is the potential to tie the hands of the review and the independent chair. That is poor practice. The chair should have been the first person appointed. I expected the Minister to announce the name of the chair today and I think most people expected that. It is hard to understand why he is delaying that until a later phase in the review.

On the appointment of the chair, it is important that person be totally independent and have relevant experience in sexual and reproductive health and a background in human rights. The Minister has said he agrees with that approach. Will he provide us with the criteria that will apply in terms of the necessary qualities, experience and expertise of that person, which, presumably, have been set out in the invitation to tender?

The other important point is who will be on the selection panel to select the person. All of these stages are key and essential to know about in terms of the likely outcome of the review and to ensure it is objective. Will the Minister provide us with details of the selection panel?

It is standard practice in a good review process that an independent chair is appointed and there is an advisory panel to support him or her. It is a long and wide-ranging review. Who will advise the independent chair? Has the Minister given consideration to the appointment of an advisory panel?