Health Committee finalises witness list for hearings on the Heads of the Protection of Life during Pregnancy Bill 2013

15 May 2013

The following individuals and organisations are scheduled to appear before the Committee over the three days:

Friday 17th May – Seanad Eireann (Policy, Medical & Obstetrics)

Session 1: 9:30 - 11:00 Policy - Overview of Heads of Bill

• Minister for Health, James Reilly TD
• Dr Ambrose McLoughlin, Secretary General, Department of Health
• Dr Tony Holohan, Chief Medical Officer

Session 2: 11:15 - 1:45 Regulatory & Representative Bodies

Institute of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists:   

• Prof Robert F. Harrison, Chair
• Dr Cathy Allen
• Dr Meabh Ni Bhuinneain
• Prof Fionnuala McAuliffe

Irish College of General Practitioners:       

• Dr Seamus Cryan, President, ICGP Executive
• Mr Kieran Ryan, CEO
• Dr Darach O'Ciardha, Chair of Communications
• Dr Margaret O’Riordan, Medical Director

Irish Medical Council:                

• Prof Kieran Murphy, President
• Ms Caroline Spillane, CEO

Irish Medical Organisation:            

• Dr Matthew Sadlier, President
• Ms Vanessa Hetherington, Policy Executive

Royal College of Physicians of Ireland:        

• Prof John Crowe, President
• Prof Frank Murray, Registrar
• Prof Desmond Carney, Fellow
• Prof Declan Sugrue, Fellow

Session 3: 2:30 - 5:00 Obstetric Care Facilities – Larger Hospitals 

• Dr Peter Boylan, National Maternity Hospital
• Dr Sam Coulter Smyth, Master, Rotunda Hospital
• Dr Rhona Mahony, Master, National Maternity Hospital

Session 4: 5:15 – 7:45 Obstetric Care Facilities – Other Hospitals

• Dr Gerard Burke, Mid-Western Regional Maternity Hospital, Limerick
• Dr Mary McCaffrey, Kerry General Hospital, Tralee
• Dr Máire Milner, Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda
• Dr John Monaghan, Portiuncula Hospital, Ballinasloe

Monday 20th May – Seanad Eireann (Psychiatry & Other medical Groups)

Session 1: 9:30 - 12:00 Psychiatry & Perinatal Psychiatrists

College of Psychiatrists of Ireland:    

• Dr Anne Jeffers, Consultant Psychiatrist
• Dr Maeve Doyle, Consultant Child & Adolescent Psychiatrist

Perinatal Psychiatrists

• Dr Joanne Fenton, Consultant Perinatal Psychiatrist
• Dr Anthony McCarthy, Consultant Perinatal Psychiatrist
• Dr. John Sheehan, Consultant Perinatal Psychiatrist

Session 2: 12:15 – 2:45 Psychiatry

• Dr Yolande Ferguson, Consultant Psychiatrist, Tallaght Hospital
• Dr Peadar O'Grady, Consultant Child & Adolescent Psychiatrist
• Prof Veronica O'Keane, Consultant Psychiatrist, Tallaght Hospital & TCD
• Dr Eamonn Moloney, Consultant Psychiatrist, Cork University Hospital

Session 3: 3:30 – 6:00 Psychiatry

• Prof Kevin Malone, Consultant Psychiatrist, St Vincent’s University Hospital & UCD
• Dr Bernie McCabe, Consultant Psychiatrist, Navan Hospital
• Dr Jacqueline Montwill, Consultant Psychiatrist, Mayo Mental Health Service
• Dr Sean O’Domhnaill, Consultant Psychiatrist

Session 4: 6:15 – 8:45 Other Medical Specialties

• Irish Nurses & Midwives Organisation:  Ms Claire Mahon, President
• Mental Health Commission: Mr John Saunders, Chair
• Dr Kevin Walsh, Consultant Cardiologist, Crumlin & Mater Misericordiae Hospital
• Dr Janice Walshe, Consultant Medical Oncologist, St. Vincent’s University Hospital

Tuesday 21st May – Seanad Eireann (Legal Hearings)

Session 1: 9:30 - 12:00 Medical Law

• Mr Paul Brady, BL
• Dr Simon Mills, BL
• Mr Tony O’Connor, SC
• Ms Caroline Simons, Solicitor

Session 2: 12:15 – 2:45 Constitutional Law

• Prof William Binchy, BL, Trinity College Dublin
• Dr Maria Cahill, University College Cork
• Mr Frank Callanan, SC
• Mrs Justice Catherine McGuinness, retired judge of the Supreme Court

Session 3: 3:30 – 6:00 Medical Ethics

• Dr Ciaran Craven, BL
• Dr Ruth Fletcher, Keele University
• Ms Sunniva McDonagh, SC

Session 4: 6:15 – 8:45 Members Time / Closing Statements

• Minister of State, Mr Alex White TD

Committee Chairman, Jerry Buttimer TD said: “This is pre-legislative scrutiny at Heads of Bill stage which is a consultative process involving the Committee examining written submissions along with hearing from invited expert witnesses from the medical, psychiatry and legal fields. The Committee wishes to record its thanks to all those who offered to come before us and regrets that it cannot accommodate every request.

“The hearings will be broadcast live to the citizens we serve on Oireachtas UPC Channel 207, accessible to over 300,000 homes across the country, and webcast live on the Oireachtas website. As a Committee, we hope that the debate is conducted in a temperate and moderate fashion, and that the hearings make a considered contribution to the shaping of this significant piece of legislation.”

Committee hearings can be followed live over the three days via the Seanad webcast feed.

For further information please contact:

Paul Hand,
Houses of the Oireachtas,
Communications Unit,
Leinster House,
Dublin 2

P: +3531 618 4484
M: 087-6949926

ENDS

Committee Membership:

Deputies

Jerry Buttimer, Fine Gael
Catherine Byrne, Fine Gael
Sandra McLellan, Sinn Fein
Ciara Conway, Labour Party
Regina Doherty, Fine Gael
Robert Dowds, Labour Party
Peter Fitzpatrick, Fine Gael
Seamus Healy, Independent
Billy Kelleher, Fianna Fáil
Eamonn Maloney, Labour Party
Mary Mitchell O’Connor, Fine Gael
Mattie McGrath, Independent
Denis Naughten, Independent
Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin, Sinn Fein
Robert Troy, Fianna Fáil

Senators

Colm Burke, Fine Gael
John Crown, Independent
John Gilroy, Labour Party
Imelda Henry, Fine Gael
Marc Mac Sharry, Fianna Fáil
Jillian Van Turnhout, Independent