Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As I said very clearly already, my responsibility as Minister for Health is to make sure that we are delivering the services that the Irish public require in terms of their health and well-being. My responsibility is to ensure that the funding this House approves for me to expend on the health service is disbursed by the HSE, either spent by it or disbursed to voluntary organisations, and that we get value for money and get the services that we pay for and require.

I set health policy on behalf of the Government; nobody else and no religious order sets health policy. Therefore, I feel very strongly, and I share Deputy Barry's view on this, that where the HSE or the taxpayer is funding the service, it is this House and this Government that set the policy and not any other house or any other type of governing body.

There is obviously an issue of conscientious objection and that may be the issue to which the Deputy is referring. That could potentially arise in the context of the provision of treatment and services in health care facilities run by religious organisations. The European Court of Justice has outlined that this conscientious objection remains a limited right derived from religious freedom that cannot lead to the restriction of the rights and freedoms of another person. However, a health care professional's conscientious objection absolutely does not absolve his or her duty of care to the patient. Therefore, he or she could not abandon the patient or cause the patient's care to suffer in situations where such a transfer would not be possible. This is in line with the approach outlined in the Medical Council's guide to professional conduct and ethics which facilitates the transfer of a patient from one doctor to another.

See this speech in context