Rónán Mullen (Independent)

I will raise another issue for when we have time for it. Last year I called for a debate on bioethics and specifically the area of embryo protection. I am very grateful to many colleagues, both here and in the Dáil, who attended the briefing I organised last term. At that time I mentioned the developments in Wisconsin and Japan in which scientists had successfully transformed adult cells into the equivalent of embryonic stem cells, which seemed to show great potential in the area of finding future cures.

One concern was that the method was based on a technique that relied on retroviruses, with this connected to some risks of cancer. The good news, according to the journal Science published last week, is that a group of Harvard researchers has now managed to successfully reprogramme adult cells into the equivalent of embryonic stem cells without the need for retroviruses. This opens the even greater possibility of development in the area of adult stem cell research. It also proves good science need not be at odds with good ethics and we hope for cures that all of us can live with.

When we get over the current emergency debates, I hope we will have the opportunity to debate developments in bioethics and how we can have a properly ethical approach to the issue in this country.