Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I second the amendment. We had an exhaustive debate on this with the Minister of State and I know that Senator Walsh has said that the Minister of State met with him subsequent to the debate and discussed this. Subsequent to the previous debate, I was reminded of just how emotive this issue is for parents and grandparents. I was reminded that my first cousin had a late miscarriage some years ago which I had forgotten about. The miscarriage coincided with the death of her father so they may have been related. What I particularly remember about the funeral is that the unborn baby was placed in the coffin alongside her grandfather and the unborn baby was named and treated as a living entity by the parents - as a real person. It occurred to me that if that particular event was experienced by that family, how many other families across the country feel the same, have adopted the same course of action and hold and treasure the memory of what they accept as a living being.

I appreciate that the circumstances and context for Senator Walsh's amendment are somewhat different but all of this has the same emotional impact on those involved. As Senator Walsh has outlined, I hope that there would be some legal framework that would accommodate Senator Walsh's amendment, prevent the sadness and discomfort that has surrounded this particular case and many cases like it and bring closure of some sort - at least the closure of a chapter for the surviving grandparents.