Martin Mansergh (Fianna Fail)

This is a difficult and complex issue. When I work out the pros and cons I will come to a position at the end. I must declare an interest in that I have a daughter who is engaged in stem cell research, or has been, albeit of the animal variety. It is wrong to think that there are no ethical problems involved with that. My daughter is at the University of Wales at present and, if anything, the animal rights ethical issues are more live there than are some of those we are discussing. I had a good conversation with my daughter but I also found Fr. Kevin Doran's article useful. They seemed to largely agree about the benefits of adult stem cell research.

Even in purely secular terms, the benefits of embryonic stem cell research are not proven. There are many ethical doubts about this type of research, which is at the frontiers. The position of the Catholic Church on this issue is clear and, all other things being equal, there is no doubt that the majority of people in this country would follow that view. The Minister referred to the Catholic University of Louvain. Universities do not normally adopt collective positions on academic and ethical issues. I presume she was referring to some member of staff of the university who has taken the initiative. It would be fairly unusual for a university to adopt a collective position on matters of this nature.