Colm Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome Senator Naughton to the House. Speaking as someone who joined Cork City Council and the European Parliament half way through their terms, one can get double the amount of work done in that time. The Senator will find that her colleagues will provide as much help as possible. I look forward to giving her every possible assistance during her time in the Seanad.

I welcome last Friday's statement by the Institute of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. That clarification was issued to allay the public's fears stemming from a great deal of inaccurate information that was provided during the Seanad's debate last week. I thank the institute for issuing its statement and for putting the correct information into the public domain.

Professor Andrew Green has raised a medical issue concerning the outsourcing of certain testing by the HSE. Professor Green is the director of the National Centre for Medical Genetics and has questioned the services being engaged from companies abroad. We should debate this issue during our next term. There could be jobs in Ireland, but we are sending work abroad.