Keith Swanick (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

An tseachtain seo caite, labhair mé anseo mar gheall ar an obair thábhachtach i gceantair Iorras i gContae Mhaigh Eo. Leanann an obair go stóchúil agus Dé Domhnaigh seo caite tugadh isteach corp Captain Mark Duffy.

The dignity with which Captain Mark Duffy, from Rescue 116, was borne ashore on Sunday last is something that will stay with me forever. He gave his life so that others might live. Along with his colleagues, he was a hero and somebody to hold up as a role model to our children. Heroes do not arrive out of nowhere. They are the embodiment of their family and often their communities. Captain Mark Duffy will be laid to rest tomorrow in his home village of Blackrock in County Louth. It is striking that his funeral notice reads: "Mark's wish would be for you to carry an organ donor card." It is very fitting that this notice by the Duffy family comes just at the start of Organ Donor Awareness Week that has been organised by the Irish Kidney Association. Many people here in the Seanad have done great work to promote the importance of organ donation, including my colleague, Senator Mark Daly. Approximately 700 people in Ireland await life-saving heart, lung, liver, kidney and pancreas transplants. Thanks to the gift of organ donation over 3,000 people in Ireland enjoy an extended life. Just like the thousands rescued by the Irish Coast Guard, they too have been rescued and given a new lease of life.

While the focus of Organ Donor Awareness Week is to raise awareness, I was heartened to hear what the Minister for Health said yesterday. He said:

[He has prioritised] the development of legislation to provide for an opt-out system of consent for organ donation. My Department is currently working on this in the context of the work required to develop an overarching human tissue policy and legislative framework.

He also said that he intends to bring a memorandum to Government shortly on this matter. I urge the Leader and his Government colleagues to keep the pressure on so that this can happen as it will save lives.