David Norris (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I will also be brief. If a principle of conscientious objection is allowed, it should extend pretty generally, unless there are specific circumstances that militate against that and that is the question that was instanced by my distinguished colleague Senator Bacik when she talked about conscientious obstructionism. I do not believe for a second that we are at that stage in Ireland. There would not be sufficient people citing conscientious objection to obstruct. I believe in being balanced so I put on the record of the House the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights which said that conscientious objection was perfectly fine except in circumstances where it militated against people obtaining relevant services. An international report on human rights has been cited by my colleague but I would also point to the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, which has very clearly said in one of the recommendations I put on the record the other day that it should be extended to other health service workers and that includes pharmacists.

It is a question of balance and we are not at the stage where people would be prevented from having access but if the Minister can produce information on that which shows that access to these kind of services would in fact be seriously obstructed by the operation of this clause, then that is a reason to think about it again. I believe strongly in this Bill. It is an important social advance and I congratulate the Minister on it so I am certainly not seeking to be obstructive but I respect the right to freedom of conscience.