Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I wish everyone a happy St. Brigid's Day, Lá Fhéile Bríde. The Cathaoirleach is a very strong advocate for St. Brigid, and I commend him on his mask; it is lovely. From next year on we will celebrate a bank holiday on Lá Fhéile Bríde. We can all look forward to that.

I thank the Senator for raising this issue and for the opportunity to speak on it on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Health, Deputy Donnelly. I am very glad to get the opportunity to speak on this subject because I am a very strong advocate for organ donation. I remember as a teenager signing up to that particular card. The reason I did it was we lost a young girl in Portlaw many years ago and it was the first time I had heard of organ donation. At the time, when we heard her organs were being donated, it struck me how important it was. One person dying is a tragedy, but the gift of life could be given to so many other families. By coincidence, the girl's brother has been a Member of this House.

It is such an important thing and it is the most selfless act that we can bestow on each other. The improvement in the quality of life for organ recipients and their families cannot be overstated. We have a duty to do everything we can to ensure that as many people as possible benefit from organ donation. In that context, the Government allocated an additional €1 million in funding in 2022 to continue to improve organ donation and transplantation services in the State. This funding will support the ongoing development of transplant services, enhance our ability to access organ donors from abroad, and improve organ donation staffing and infrastructure. This funding will also ensure that our organ donation and transplantation services are equipped to meet the additional demands arising following the enactment of the human tissue Bill.

The programme for Government includes a commitment to "Enact the Human Tissue Bill, providing the legal basis for an opt-out system of organ donation and deliver a public information campaign." Reference was made to Spain, and I was struck by the fact that 14% of people in Spain have opted out. This means that 86% of people are included, which is a phenomenal figure. The aim with the Bill is to make organ donation the norm in Ireland in situations where the opportunity arises.

Under the soft opt-out system, consent for organ donation will be deemed unless the person has, while alive, registered their wish not to become an organ donor after death. It is proposed, however, that even though consent is deemed, the next-of-kin will always be consulted prior to removing any organ. If the next-of-kin objects to the organ donation, the donation will not proceed. The best way for a person to ensure that their wish to become an organ donor is realised is to have that conversation with their family, discuss their intention around organ donation and make their wishes clearly known to family members.

The proposed opt-out register for organ donation will create a clear and easily communicable choice to individuals to either opt-out of deceased organ donation entirely, or to allow deemed consent to apply. Signing up to the opt-out register will be a definitive expression of the person’s wish to not become an organ donor after death. An opt-out register will make organ donation the clear default option, and signal to citizens the move towards organ donation being the norm.

The enactment of the human tissue Bill is a priority for the Government. The Department of Health continues to engage closely with the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel to progress the drafting of the Bill with the objective of bringing a memorandum to Government to secure approval to publish the Bill as soon as possible in the 2022 spring legislative session.