Aideen Hayden (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I think what Senator Norris is alluding to is some of the concern expressed publicly when the Bodies exhibition was touring Ireland. There was more than a suggestion that the provenance of some of the bodies on display was deeply suspect. Senator Norris is to be congratulated for putting forward this and the previous amendment.

There is no doubt that what we would regard as normal and good human practice is not necessarily that followed in other jurisdictions. It is obviously a matter about which we need to be concerned so that we do not find ourselves accidentally and unintentionally lowering our own standards in some way that we would regard as unacceptable if we had given it more consideration. I was struck by the aspect of the Bill that includes extra-territorial measures, which is to be welcomed. It does reflect some of the extra-territorial measures introduced in the female genital mutilation legislation which we passed last year.

At some levels, human beings and their bodies are being treated like a sideshow. That is repugnant to the ordinary Irish person. We have to be careful too that when we talk about educational or entertainment purposes we distinguish between what would be regarded as educational and what would be regarded as entertainment. I would certainly draw a significant distinction between those two.

Unless of course the Minister can show it is entirely unnecessary, I support the spirit of Senator Norris’s amendment. However, in the context of educational purposes, is it possible to provide the DNA evidence required as suggested in the amendment? Will the Minister address that question?