James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)

Scans are not always appropriate but by God, they are appropriate if a pregnancy is going to be terminated by doing a D and C, then one better bloody well have a scan. Second, why are people not afforded the opportunity to have a second scan in those situations? Expecting a woman and her partner, having just been devastated by the news that they have lost their unborn baby, to have the composure and the strength to demand a second opinion, is not fair. This should be an automatic decision. Nothing should be done to endanger the life of the unborn until such time as it is proven to be no longer viable and this has not been the case in the past. I do not understand how the Minister can say she does not believe that HIQA needs to do a report. I believe it certainly does need to do so. She also says that the chief medical officer is happy with the internal review carried out in Drogheda and that it would not happen again. This is utter nonsense. The hospital still does not have a scenographer and it took six months to get rid of the machine that was fatigued and not fit for purpose. I really do not understand how the Minister can defy logic in her reply.

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