Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

The difficulty with the amendment is that the matters set out in section 3(2) must be determined solely by a judge. As the Minister stated on Committee Stage, there is no need to hear the opinions of two doctors on an issue which will, in all likelihood, be obvious to the court. Once a determination is made that a person is unfit to be tried, the judge may proceed to hear evidence in the matter from an approved medical officer.