Ned O'Sullivan (Fianna Fail)

I thank the Minister for that information. I am still not entirely happy about the position. The last thing a genuinely ill patient in hospital, and that scenario in itself is traumatic, would want is to have invasive treatment on foot of the law of the land pursuing the person into the hospital. Such a patient is in a very vulnerable position. In addition, the doctor, in many cases it will be junior doctors or nurses, may be forced into deciding that a sample can be given by a patient, who it could retrospectively be proved was not fit to have such invasive treatment at that time.