Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 6:

In page 28, line 20, after “satisfied” to insert “, based on the information available to the

provider,”.

Section 16(2) of the Bill states that AHR treatment should not be provided to a person unless the clinic is satisfied that the person and their partner do not represent a potential significant risk of harm or neglect to a child. Amendments put forward on Committee Stage by Deputies Cullinane and Shortall would mean that a clinic would have to refuse to provide AHR treatment if it became aware of such a significant risk. We had a good debate on this. Those amendments would in effect overly lower the bar with regard to the onus being placed on the providers, which was discussed. It should be noted that the wording in the Bill as initiated was already somewhat less onerous than in the 2017 general scheme. Head 7(1) of the general scheme stipulated that "a person shall not be provided with AHR treatment unless account has been taken of the welfare of any child who may be born as a result of such treatment". In other countries, the bar to be reached in this area is often higher. Amendment No. 6 will make clear that individual clinics can only satisfy themselves that there is no potential significant risk based on the information available to them. Essentially, it is not up to them to do investigative work on each of their clients. This reflects that the information available to them will be largely based on the assessment documentation the regulatory authority will develop as well as anything that comes up as part of normal counselling or consultation. The slightly amended wording which requires the fertility clinic is satisfied strikes the right balance and speaks to the legitimate concerns raised by Deputies Cullinane and Shortall and that we discussed on Committee Stage.

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