Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I will let them speak for themselves. I am not referring to the Minister, but to some of the Deputies who were vehemently against parental notification in their contributions. They did not qualify that by saying they would be happy with such a provision in the medical guidelines.

My understanding is that, under the amendment as drafted, one would have to go to the High Court where the "out" of exceptional circumstances was at the discretion of the doctor if there were valid reasons for it in the medical guidelines. Aside from that fundamental difference in the substance of the amendment, the principle is the same. This is the nub of the issue. It appears to me that there are Deputies who do not like parental notification in this case. If that view is pervasive in society, then they could seek to change the medical guidelines and it would never revert to the House.

Therefore, it seems there is an argument for putting parental notification into the Bill à lathe medical guidelines. Unfortunately, we cannot do that here tonight in respect of that wording because it is not-----

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