Frances Fitzgerald (Fine Gael)

The rate of abortion has gone down in this country, which is a very welcome development. The initiatives the agency has taken have been superb. Its work has been based on research and its literature has been excellent. I hope the Minister of State will ensure that the kind of work the agency did, and the initiative that it was able to show, will continue within the structures under which it will now operate. That is important in respect of the issues with which it is dealing, and that it will have that kind of freedom and support to do the kind of work that it did. The agency's work showed a lot of initiative, it was proactive, positive and sometimes cutting edge. Cutting-edge initiatives are needed in this area to have an impact and the agency certainly had that. I hope that will continue.

The same applies to the Women's Health Council and the work the other agencies have done. They have certainly put in a huge effort, but there is one area about which we have concerns, which were well articulated in the Dáil and in the Seanad when Senator Twomey spoke on the Bill. Perhaps the Minister of State will come back to us with further information on this section, the implications of which we expressed concern about given, in respect of sectioning, we are speaking about a vulnerable group of people. Effectively, this service is being privatised. How will issues such as standards, safety and procedures be dealt with? These issues are not dealt with anywhere in a statutory manner.