Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Let us be clear: there is no equivocation here and never has been, as far as this Government is concerned. We made it clear on the day the Government was formed that we were going to address this issue. That is why we set up the expert group, which has looked for additional time to complete its work. The Deputy can make a fuss about all the delays and so on, but the Government is going to deal with this issue. The report must be considered by the Government. I expect it will be published and that we will debate and discuss the issue in the House. I have stated clearly that we need to bring legal clarity to this issue. We must ensure that in this country no doubt can arise in a hospital in a set of circumstances which puts a mother's life at risk. I heard a medical professional speak about this on the radio this morning. We also need to provide clarity for medical professionals who must make judgment calls on these matters in the real-life situation of a hospital, and must hear the concerns they have about making a decision that may expose them to action if some person disagrees with it. We must also take into account the ethical concerns that some medical professionals may have about this issue. A range of complex considerations must be weighed up, and that is what the expert group was asked to do. When we set it up we included both medical and legal people so that they could take a totally rounded view. They have now reported and the report will be considered and taken forward. There is no question of equivocation. We need to bring legal clarity to this situation and that is what we are going to do.

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