James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I extend my sympathy to the family of Ms Savita Halappanavar on their loss. My aim and the role of my Department is to improve the health and well-being of all people in Ireland in a manner that promotes better health for everyone, fair access, responsive and appropriate care delivery and high performance. In particular, our focus is on ensuring the provision of a safe, quality-assured, patient-centred and efficient health service. Nationally, we are focused on ensuring patient safety, quality and excellence in dthe health care system. It is important, therefore, that we have systems in place to minimise the risk of occurrence of such incidents and to detect and respond appropriately to them when they do occur.

Deputy Mick Wallace has made a serious allegation before the full facts are known when he stated that this tragedy would have been avoided if treatment had been given elsewhere. Deputy Clare Daly is prejudging the outcome of the coroner's report, which will be an independent report.

Important developments in recent years in the area of health and safety include the establishment of the directorate of quality and patient safety, the enhancement of clinical governance and the ongoing development of clinical care programmes in the HSE.

Important contributions to patient safety have been made through HIQA's reports and the Safer Better Healthcare Standards, published in June this year, will also enhance patient safety. I am as concerned as others about recent maternal deaths. The death of Savita Halappanavar in UCHG on 28 October 2012, as reported widely in the media today, is a cause of great concern and was notified to my Department by the HSE. The incident was escalated directly from the hospital for the attention of the HSE's national incident management team, NIMT, on 1 November, in accordance with its risk and incident escalation procedure, which outlines the steps that must be taken by managers to escalate risks and incidents, as appropriate, that occur within their own service. This procedure is to be used in circumstances where a national or integrated response is required. The two investigations referred to earlier are currently underway. In addition, a coroner's inquest will take place into the matter. The HSE investigations are being undertaken to establish the facts in this case and to identify the factors that contributed to this tragic death. The outcome of the investigation reports must be awaited before commenting further. In accordance with HSE policy, the investigation teams will work closely with family members at all times and keep them fully informed of the terms of reference of the investigation.

As Deputies may be aware, the current legal position on abortion in Ireland, set out in Article 40.3.3^oof the Irish Constitution and interpreted by the Supreme Court in 1992, provides that it is lawful to terminate a pregnancy in Ireland if it is established, as a matter of probability, that there is a real and substantial risk to the life, as distinct from the health, of the mother, which can be avoided only by a termination of the pregnancy. In addition, the current Medical Council's Guide to Professional Conduct and Ethics for Registered Medical Practitioners, 2009, sets out the position on abortion as follows:

'21.1. Abortion is illegal in Ireland except where there is a real and substantial risk to the life (as distinct from the health) of the mother. Under current legal precedent, this exception includes where there is a clear and substantial risk to the life of the mother arising from a threat of suicide. You should undertake a full assessment of any such risk in light of the clinical research on this issue.

21.2. It is lawful to provide information in Ireland about abortions abroad, subject to strict conditions. It is not lawful to encourage or advocate an abortion in individual cases.

21.3. You have a duty to provide care, support and follow-up services for women who have an abortion abroad.

21.4. In current obstetrical practice, rare complications can arise where therapeutic intervention (including termination of a pregnancy) is required at a stage when, due to extreme immaturity of the baby, there may be little or no hope of the baby surviving. In these exceptional circumstances, it may be necessary to intervene to terminate the pregnancy to protect the life of the mother, while making every effort to preserve the life of the baby.

The Deputies are aware that, on foot of the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in the A, B and C v.Ireland case and to fulfil a commitment included in the programme for Government, the Government established an expert group, drawing on appropriate medical and legal expertise, with a view to making recommendations on how this matter should be properly addressed. The deliberations of the expert group have concluded and its report was submitted to the Department late yesterday evening. I will consider the content and implications of the report before discussing them with my Cabinet colleagues. In this regard, I have asked my officials to examine the report and revert to me once that work has been completed.

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