Brian Ó Domhnaill (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I listened to all of the contributions from the Senators and acknowledge and thank those who put forward the amendments. By putting forward an amendment, whether one agrees or disagrees with it, they give us all an opportunity to discuss this particular element, the question of fatal foetal abnormalities and, of course, the issue of rape and incest.

This is a most sensitive area, particularly for any member of a family who discovers that a child may be born with a disability. It affects many of us. Recently, within my wider family, I experienced that where the advice given by one of the Dublin hospitals was that the parents, who were young and were expecting their first child, should seriously consider travelling to England to have an abortion even though the baby, who was subsequently born with Down's syndrome, was at a very late stage. Thankfully, they decided that they did not want to have the abortion and the baby is doing well.

Often I meet people who have Down's syndrome. I am glad to say that I have a number of friends who have Down's syndrome and who are contributing well to society.