Peter Mathews (Dublin South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We have wonderful standards. They are the best. Doctors, nurses, midwives and medical attendants do their very best. Let us not make them overly neurotic about law and what lawyers would like them to do in lawyers' language instead of caring for people and taking necessary, courageous risks. As I said to the Fine Gael parliamentary party meeting, my father would not have wanted clarity for Freddie Woods to do his open-heart surgery. He trusted Freddie to do it. There has been a highly politicised and disingenuous attempt to do something here that we should stand back from and take stock of. We must be honest. It is shocking that 4,500 women and girls go to England and France every year and my heart goes out to them. We should prevent it.

See this speech in context