Alex White (Dublin South, Labour) | Oireachtas source

-----and that has to be taken on board. No effort was made. There may have been an effort to recall the Seanad, which seems to have been unnecessary, but no motion appeared on an Order Paper either here or in the other House seeking to annul or set aside the statutory instrument, as was the opportunity afforded to Senators. I am not resiling from what I said earlier about the inadequacy of our system of scrutiny of European legislation. I simply point out that even the limited opportunities the Senators have were not availed of because a motion was not placed on the Order Paper seeking to do so last August. It is not until now that has occurred, just a year later.

As I previously stated, the European Union (Quality and Safety of Human Organs Intended for Transplantation) Regulations 2012 set out a clear legal framework for the quality and safety standards for organs intended for transplantation. The regulations provide for the establishment of a framework for quality and safety to cover the entire chain from donation to transplantation or disposal; the authorisation of procurement and transplantation centres and activities; the establishment of traceability systems; the management and reporting of serious adverse events and reactions; requirements for the safe transportation of organs; and the characterisation of every donor and organ.

We will all agree on the necessity of ensuring that every link in the chain from donation to transplantation observes the highest possible standards of quality and safety. Regarding organ donation and transplantation, this involves ensuring that those who donate organs and those who receive organs can be fully confident that the system meets the very best standards of international practice.

How could the Seanad, with every respect to this Chamber, support a motion to annul a statutory instrument that enshrines in Irish law a system for quality and safety for organs for transplantation; that establishes an inspectorate function whereby an independent agency is tasked with ensuring that our procurement and transplantation centres meet quality and safety standards; that provides for sanctions if safety standards are not met; that provides that it is an offence to traffic human organs; and that ensures that we can continue to exchange organs with the United Kingdom to our mutual benefit? What conceivable basis could there be for annulling such regulations? That is my answer to Senator Ó Murchú who asked about the Government's position and why they should not be annulled.