Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank both Deputies. It is specialist advice. The concept of the word “irreversible” is in favour of the patient. Let us take one child as an example. If, based on current medicine, the treatment to be provided to the child would cause irreversible infertility, that would give the child access. Hopefully, that would become reversible through science in the future but if that were the case, it would mean the child would not have access. Therefore, the fact that it is now irreversible is actually in favour of the patient.

I take the Deputies’ points. I think we are all trying to achieve the same thing. I am satisfied that this does not create a more restrictive regime. The specialist advice I have is that this is a better way of assessing the situation the child is in. The word “irreversible” is included because the specialist has to be happy that it is more likely than not that the condition is irreversible. However, to respond to the Deputy’s point about what is irreversible now being reversible in perhaps five, ten or 20 years, that works in favour of the child's being able to access treatment.

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