Mary Henry (Independent)

It must be of great comfort to the Tánaiste to know that Members of the upper House are spending their evenings at home carefully scrutinising his legislation. I feared the original wording could give rise to a situation in which cruel and natural practices were inflicted by members of the medical profession, so I am glad my amendment has been accepted.

With regard to amendment No. 18, it would be a good idea to include iris identification in this era of biometric passports. It appears to be the most reliable form of identification, although some criminals are apparently able to make changes to biometric passports. I suggest we try to keep the legislation as current as possible.