The Minister for Health and Children notes the concerns that have been highlighted by Senator Henry in her address to the House. The Department of Health and Children also has a number of concerns regarding the proposed directive, as have the health service regulatory bodies – Medical Council, An Bord Altranais, the Dental Council and the Irish Pharmaceutical Society. The Secretary General of the Department met with the four bodies earlier this year to discuss their concerns and to agree a modus operandi for co-ordinating responses to the proposed directive. In this regard, the Department of Education and Science is the lead Department for the negotiations at Council level and is co-ordinating the Government's response to the proposed directive. The Department of Education and Science has set up an interdepartmental group to collate the views and observations of the various Government Departments. These contributions are then presented for discussion at the Council working group.