Results 8,461-8,480 of 16,344 for speaker:Peadar Tóibín

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Illness Benefit Applications (7 Nov 2018)

Peadar Tóibín: 161. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection when a payment will issue for an application by a person (details supplied) for illness benefit. [45989/18]

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Illness Benefit Payments (7 Nov 2018)

Peadar Tóibín: 162. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the reason for delays in applications for illness benefit; and the steps she is taking to rectify the situation. [45990/18]

Select Committee on Health: Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (6 Nov 2018)

Peadar Tóibín: There are different views on what the people actually voted on in the referendum. They were faced with a binary question. The Minister is correct when he clarifies that the people voted on the deletion of the eighth amendment. That is also the view of Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy and the Referendum Commission. A doctor-led service was central to the advocation of repeal by the Minister and...

Select Committee on Health: Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (6 Nov 2018)

Peadar Tóibín: I will not labour the point. Abortion is a serious issue. From my perspective, there are two individuals involved. In most countries that provide for abortions, women die from legal abortions. It needs to be put on the record. Patient safety is important. If people want to change it, it will be possible to change it in the Dáil in future years. Before we do that, we should consult...

Select Committee on Health: Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (6 Nov 2018)

Peadar Tóibín: I oppose amendment No. 7. The reference, "to end the life of a foetus" is probably one of the most important in the legislation and it is the reason it is contentious for many people and their views. It is a sobering reference for sure. It is also scientifically true because we are talking about two individual living human beings, according to science. It is dangerous to move away from...

Select Committee on Health: Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (6 Nov 2018)

Peadar Tóibín: I am exceptionally uncomfortable with the language and that is why I opposed the repeal of the eighth amendment. I agree that we should not be legislating on the basis of feelings but we should not be legislating on the basis of euphemisms either. We need to be able to accept the advice of science and medicine as regards to when the life of an unborn child starts. In fairness, there are...

Select Committee on Health: Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (6 Nov 2018)

Peadar Tóibín: The Minister spoke about healthcare. I support free healthcare 100% - there is no doubt about it. Obviously, my definition of "healthcare" is where we save lives, not end them, and this Bill is about ending lives, as such. Of the population, 34% voted against the referendum and approximately 20% of people who voted "Yes" do not agree with this Bill. Those people are entitled to...

Select Committee on Health: Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (6 Nov 2018)

Peadar Tóibín: That is the issue. The eighth amendment committee heard evidence to the effect that the majority of abortions happened because of socio-economic reasons, not health ones. The Minister lauded the eighth amendment, but that was the evidence it heard.

Select Committee on Health: Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (6 Nov 2018)

Peadar Tóibín: I am sorry - the committee heard that evidence. I was surprised by the backlash on the street. When the Bill was discussed initially, I did not expect people to be annoyed. However, they raised with me the point that 2,500 kids could not get access to mental health services. There is a question of humanity involved in that as well. We have a portion of money to be spent in our health...

Select Committee on Health: Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (6 Nov 2018)

Peadar Tóibín: People tell us not to rehash the debate on the referendum. The pro-life Deputies have tabled 16 out of the 180 amendments. We are looking for a deviation 16 times and the others are pro-choice deviations. If we stuck to the Bill, we would not be here at this stage. There is an opportunity for respectful opposition. If opposition is deleted, we will have a worse Bill. We need to test the...

Select Committee on Health: Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (6 Nov 2018)

Peadar Tóibín: Can we speak to the amendment?

Select Committee on Health: Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (6 Nov 2018)

Peadar Tóibín: Can I say that I might bring such an amendment forward on Report Stage?

Select Committee on Health: Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (6 Nov 2018)

Peadar Tóibín: Can I table an amendment on Report Stage if I mention it at this juncture?

Select Committee on Health: Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (6 Nov 2018)

Peadar Tóibín: That is not the case if a Deputy has mentioned that is his objective.

Select Committee on Health: Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (6 Nov 2018)

Peadar Tóibín: Thank you.

Select Committee on Health: Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (6 Nov 2018)

Peadar Tóibín: I reiterate the point that no woman should be criminalised with regard to abortion. It is important to remember that most abortions are related to socio-economic issues and we should focus on resolving those issues. It was stated that abortion was safe, but the Bill itself states that abortion is the ending of a life. Safety and the ending of a life do not equal each other. This is one of...

Select Committee on Health: Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (6 Nov 2018)

Peadar Tóibín: I have an amendment further down the list that seeks to augment the level of data collected in the whole process in the same fashion as in Britain. In Britain, far more information is collected than is proposed in this Bill. I agree with Deputy O'Reilly in that the more data and information that exist, the easier the policy development in the future. It will result in better insight into...

Select Committee on Health: Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (6 Nov 2018)

Peadar Tóibín: Many of us on this side agree with the difficulty but probably for different or polar opposite reasons. The question does remain and the phrase "extraordinary life-sustaining measures" is extremely vague. At the last engagement we discussed the necessity to detail 28 days. We could not leave for a lack of clarity because that would put medical practitioners on the hook, to a certain...

Select Committee on Health: Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (6 Nov 2018)

Peadar Tóibín: Yes.

Select Committee on Health: Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (6 Nov 2018)

Peadar Tóibín: Yes.