Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Some of Senator Mullen's allegation are ridiculous. On the one hand, people are saying that I am not consulting the clinics enough, whereas Senator Mullen tells me I am in the pockets of the clinics. One would not think that when one reads their submissions and what they have to say about the approach I have taken, in regard to moving from anonymous donation to identifiable donation.

My only interest in this legislation is ensuring that parentage provisions are in place and work. That is what I am focusing on. I have said repeatedly that the whole area needs regulation. We have had the commission on assisted reproduction in 2005. We heard one of the Senators, Senator Cáit Keane speak about what happened 30 years ago when the medical profession first addressed the issue and put regulations on medical ethics in place. We are the first government that has given a commitment to legislation for it and to put in place clear initiatives and legislation that are in the best interest of the child in the areas of consent and donations.

There is clearly broader work to be done in this area. I am dealing with certain aspects of the issue in this Bill. I have said that there is clearly a job of work on which the Department of Health has already done a significant body of work with a strong ethical perspective as there are serious ethical issues that must be addressed in the area of assisted human reproduction and donor assisted human reproduction. That work has to be done.

Failure to comply with an inspection will encompass the way in which a DAHR facility complies with the obligation to keep the records in accordance with what is outlined in the legislation. The offences outlined in legislation will kick in at that point. There will be a major responsibility on the inspection regime to vindicate the child's identity rights. Clearly that is at the core of any inspection regime because it is central to it.As a Government we have made it so central that the child has access to their identity and to the information that is available in the clinic. That information has to be held there and has to be accessible and available. That is the whole point.