Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I agree with everything that has been said, but I am a realist and have spoken to Members of the Oireachtas around Leinster House. This Bill has yet to go to the Dáil, but if we accept this amendment I believe the Bill will come back here. A considerable number of Deputies will want to have the cover of medical expertise. It is regrettable but I ask that this amendment should not be pressed at this time. We are taking slow steps and I do not want this Bill to fail under any circumstances. I do not want to give anybody the excuse of saying they were able to walk away from it because of that.

For that reason alone I ask for the amendment to be withdrawn, although it hurts me greatly to have to say this. As everyone who has spoken here today said, this is not a medical or psychiatric condition. We have to deal with 226 people in the Oireachtas but ultimately the most important thing is that the Bill will be passed. I therefore ask the mover of the amendment to reconsider it based on that alone. I feel deeply sorry that I have to ask for the amendment to be withdrawn, but I do not want to see the Bill defeated for the wrong reasons. For that reason, however, I ask that the amendment be withdrawn.