Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

When we addressed these issues last week, I raised my concerns about the Minister's amendment and the fact that the formulation and form of the legislation strayed from that envisaged by Mr. Justice Quirke. That is most regrettable and also unnecessary. It has caused unnecessary confusion, unless, of course, it is deliberate in limiting the number of services and treatments to which the women concerned might be entitled. I draw the Minister's attention to the fact that amendments Nos. 2 to 5, inclusive, tabled by Deputies Joan Collins and Maureen O'Sullivan have been disallowed, but ironically, each of them fully and faithfully echoes the wording provided by Mr. Justice Quirke in Appendix E. We would have been better served if the Minister had stuck to that wording.

I share the concerns of other speakers about the range of therapies, including the alternative therapies, available to the women concerned. I asked the Minister during our exchange the other day to clarify whether she had been in contact since Second and Committee Stages with the women concerned and their advocacy groups. Even on Second Stage, the Minister conceded that there had been a level of confusion generated. I am wondering, in that context, what, if anything, the Minister or her officials have done to dispel that confusion.

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