Paul Coghlan (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Tánaiste to the House and thank her for outlining her views. While I do not necessarily share them, I thank her for expressing them. I am glad that she seems interested in a full democratic debate because indications so far have been otherwise and I hope ethical considerations will take precedence over monetary or economic ones.

There are important ethical, constitutional, legal and moral issues involved in this matter. We should have much more information and consideration before proceeding further. Will the Tánaiste inform us when we will have the report of the Commission on Assisted Human Reproduction or did she say we can expect to have it shortly? Will she inform us whether the Government is considering the publication of a Green Paper on this important issue, which would take account of the views of the bioethics committee and others? Surely the Government would not enter into any international commitments in this area without consulting Dáil Éireann and the Seanad in advance.

As the House is aware, three joint committees have already had some discussion on the subject, in particular the Joint Committee on Enterprise and Small Business which considered the matter at its meeting on 5 November, as a result of a referral for scrutiny. The committee heard representatives of the Department and the Commission on Assisted Human Reproduction to assist it in its consideration of the proposal. The committee on bioethics informed the joint committee that it did not consider that it could be of assistance to it on that particular occasion. Representatives of the Department made oral presentations and the committee members raised a number of issues with them. Following further deliberation, the joint committee agreed that the proposal should be opposed with a view to it being rejected at Council.

The Sub-committee on European Scrutiny has drawn the attention of both Houses to a number of matters as a result of its examination of the proposal. It makes the point that the sub-committee received no advance notice of the proposal and noted that it had not been scrutinised by the Oireachtas. It understands that a number of member states raised concerns at the Council meeting in Brussels on 29 September and that if they were to vote against the proposed measures on 27 November, their votes would constitute a blocking minority. Perhaps the Tánaiste might like to comment on that aspect. I understand that Austria, Germany, Italy and Portugal are opposed to the proposal.