Brian Ó Domhnaill (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I will speak through the Chair. They are not dealt with. The document makes no mention of conscientious objection. It merely states that the pharmacist must refer. That is the reason 165 pharmacists have raised their concerns and the reason the Irish Pharmacy Union has written to the Minister but, as of today, it has not received a response. Some of the pharmacists, including pharmacists who have raised this issue with me, would find it a lonely, hollow place if they were to raise those issues with Senator Reilly. That is why I am sure they have raised them with people who are willing to express their concerns in this House.

Furthermore, 500 nurses and midwives have raised concerns about it, while there is a grounding in legislation argument, a 2014 High Court judgment on the issue of conscientious objection and Article 44.2.1° of the Constitution. It was Albert Einstein who once said, "Never do anything against conscience even if the state demands it." We are not following the words of that famous quotation in this Bill.