Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independents 4 Change) | Oireachtas source

I support and welcome the Bill. I believe it was 2018 when there was a coming together of the Irish Donor Network, IDN, with various groups making the case for the opt-out system and for a human tissue Bill to be introduced. It is important that all Bills undergo pre-legislative scrutiny. I share Deputy Connolly's concerns in that regard.

The IDN has warmly welcomed the Bill and has stated that the Bill does not just bring the obvious benefits to the recipients, but also benefits recipients' families and society in general, including the health service and the wider economy, by promoting transplantation and working towards the most effective organ donor system possible. I join and support the IDN in this view.

Ireland ranked 18th out of the EU's member states in terms of our overall rate of organ transplants and donations in 2020. This was a slip from 14th in 2019. We saw decreases in lung, heart, liver and kidney transplants in 2020. Last year, 669 people were on our transplant lists. Transplant services were heavily disrupted by Covid-19, and the knock-on effect of this is continuing. We need to improve. There is no need for Ireland not to lead in transplantation rates and services. I hope that the Bill contributes to that.

I welcome the soft opt-out system. Wales has seen significant increases in donation rates since its adoption of such a system. The Kidney Wales Foundation has stated that this system has been a major positive in many ways and has persuaded England and Scotland to adopt similar policies. Mr. Philip Watt, chief executive of CFI and chair of the IDN, has stated that transplant and donor rates in Ireland have the significant potential to be improved by this legislation. A soft opt-out system has received support in the public consultation process, which I welcome.

While I welcome the Bill, I join the IDN in its calls for greater resources and improvements in the organ transplantation and donation system. It has called for an immediate organ donation and transplant revitalisation fund and a detailed plan for raising Ireland into the top ten countries in the EU for transplantation and organ donation by 2025. The IDN states that we need beds for pre- and post-transplant care, more post-transplantation doctors and multidisciplinary teams, and better funding for assessment and organ retrieval. I call on the Government to implement these recommendations and ask the Minister to address them in his summation. We need an effective plan to raise public awareness and an education programme that explains the changes in organ donor consent. Proper and appropriate funding for this education programme around the soft opt-out will be needed to ensure the benefits and effectiveness of the new system.

I welcome and support the Bill as a positive step forward in improving our transplant and donation system. I congratulate everyone who has worked hard to get us this far. I reiterate the calls from the IDN for greater resources and ambitions for improving transplantation and donation and ensuring that the Bill is a success.

Transplantation is a welcome and life-saving operation for anyone receiving a transplant and is an emotional time for his or her loved ones. Putting in place resources in terms of nurses working with parents, families and so on will be important to the promotion of organ transplantation.

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