Michael McCarthy (Labour)

I welcome the Minister to the House and I thank the Leader for organising this debate which we have frequently sought in recent times. I welcome that we can finally debate this issue in advance of a vote that will be taken in Brussels at the end of this month. I also thank the Minister for giving us so much of her time this afternoon and in recent times.

The rapid advance of biochemistry in recent years has opened up previously unimaginable opportunities for medicine. These opportunities present real opportunities for research and may possibly yield particular results. However, such advances in biochemistry also present society with a major dilemma. It boils down to one huge ethical question, namely whether this is right or wrong. That question can only be answered by ourselves. When people research this matter, it is one on which they will have to decide for themselves. This debate and scientific advances forces us to redefine and re-explore the limits of proper scientific research. That is not something I say lightly. There are many diverse views on this area, but the issue boils down to what one is happy with when one asks oneself the ethical question or whether such research it is right or wrong, although it is not easy to weigh up the pros and cons of such a complex, diverse topic as embryonic stem cell research.

Stem cells have the ability to develop into virtually any cell in the body and may have the potential to treat medical conditions such as diabetes and degenerative diseases, such as Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis and motor neurone disease. This type of research offers people who suffer from these illnesses real hope that it may assist them at some stage in dealing with the effects of such degenerative diseases. In the case of a person who has damaged his or her spinal cord, such research may help him or her to become fully functional again one day. Irrespective of on what side of the argument one stands, such an opportunity cannot be denied to such people. One must consider the merits of giving a person real hope to make a recovery from an illness as devastating as those I mentioned.