Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 7 April 2009
90 Deputy Leo Varadkar asked the Minister for Health and Children when she will introduce legislation regarding consent for the retention of human tissue by hospitals and other institutions; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14122/09]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department plans to circulate its draft Proposal for the General Scheme of the Human Tissue Bill 2009 for public consultation shortly. A central element of the draft Proposal will be the implementation of the key recommendations of the report by Dr Deirdre Madden into Post-mortem Practice and Procedures. In line with the report, the legislation will provide that no hospital post-mortem examination should be carried out and no tissue retained for any purpose whatsoever without authorisation. Consent/authorisation will be the defining principle underpinning any of the specified activities involving human tissue in the draft Proposal, including hospital post-mortems.
My Department will analyse all submissions received from the consultation process and aims to present the final General Scheme to Government for its approval in the Autumn.
