Alex White (Dublin South, Labour) | Oireachtas source

As Senator Keane said, if one looks at the way these amendments are worded, they constitute a blanket exclusion of civil or criminal liability for negligence in respect of circumstances where a viable infant is delivered. It is an extraordinarily severe and strong blanket exclusion of liability that one could conceivably not adopt. Adopting this amendment would also exclude liability in circumstances where there was negligence. The amendment is unstatable and unsustainable.

Senator Cullinane is correct that we cannot legislate for every exigency of the clinical environment. All we can do as legislators in good faith is set a legislative set of standards, principles and requirements. It is not even a question of me proposing we should rely on the professionalism of doctors. We have to rely on it as we always have. They do not let us down. They have standards. I am not prepared to proceed otherwise than on the basis that standards will be high and upheld.

I disagree with Senator Mullen’s test that he is proposing which is essentially the opposite, that we have to make a presumption that bad things will be done. He said a doctor may have an ideology. That is the basis upon which the Seanad is being asked to deal with this.