Jim Daly (Cork South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will not be accepting these amendments as they are not necessary. As many speakers have already alluded to, consent to medical treatment by minors over the age of 16 is governed by section 23 of the Non-Fatal Offences against the Person Act 1997. Furthermore, consent to medical treatment for minors is governed by case law, for example, the Gillick principle.

The issue of parental notification has been comprehensively dealt with in the HSE's guide to consent for young people, as has been referenced by previous speakers. The provision on consent in section 23 of the Bill does not make special provisions or requirements for any particular group on consent and I do not intend that this will change. While I am aware that a case is sometimes made for special provisions to be put in place around consent to termination of pregnancy for adolescents, I am of the view that issues around consent arise across medical practice and are not limited to this particular issue. Such issues equally arise regarding contraception, gender realignment, cosmetic surgery and, in fact, any and all other areas of medicine and healthcare which affect adolescents.

This being the case, if they are to be examined, I believe these issues are of a sufficiently serious nature to warrant examination on their own merit and not to be relegated to a single clause in this legislation.