I am sure the Taoiseach heard Praveen Halappanavar describe his wife's treatment in our hospital service before her death as horrendous, barbaric and inhumane. Her death was one the most eminent obstetrician in the country has said could have been avoided had she been granted the termination she requested. Instead, she was left in agony with her treatment delayed until she was, basically, at death's door, because of the failure of successive governments to legislate and because of the obscene distinction between protecting a woman's life and protecting her health, a distinction the Minister for Justice and Equality correctly said has resulted in some citizens' being more equal than others. While there is no impediment to the protection of men's lives, health or general well-being, in the case of pregnant women that is a qualified right.

One would think, in a civilised society in which it has been found that an innocent woman has died unnecessarily and in which half of the population are not guaranteed an equal right to health, that the Taoiseach would be spurred into action. Instead, we had the spectacle at the weekend of talk of Spanish inquisitions and of suicidal women being brought before tribunals of three, four or six inquisitors to adjudicate on their mental health. That discussion was of itself insulting to women and their doctors. I was going to ask the Taoiseach what he has against women, but I will confine myself to three simple questions on the issue of maternal well-being.

On the day Savita Halappanavar's inquest finished, an inquest opened in Dublin into the death of Bimbo Onanuga, a Nigerian woman who died in the Rotunda three years ago. This woman's family had to fight for that inquest. Given the useful information that came out of the Halappanavar inquest, which can be used to inform our maternity services in future years, will the Taoiseach consider moving to amend the Coroners Act to ensure there is an automatic inquest into a case of death in our maternity hospitals? Will he, against the backdrop of recent commissioned research which reveals a disproportionate number of deaths among women not born in Ireland - 40% of maternal deaths occur to women not born in Ireland - examine the situation and the data protection information in our hospitals? Finally, will he ensure that, without delay, legislation is brought before this House to provide for abortion where the life of a woman is in danger, including a risk of suicide, on the advice of not more than two medical practitioners publicly available in our health service with State-wide access?

The Deputy's comment is not relevant here. In all the comments I have made about any of these matters, I have tried to be as understanding of the position as one can be. The situation is that there is no need for some of the language I have heard in the past, based purely on speculation, dealing with the lives of women and the lives of their unborn children. That language is not necessary. It should not be the case that anybody in this country refers to women as being some kind of impediment to their children and to the lives of their children. This is much too serious an issue for that kind of glib comment and I do not accept it from Deputy Daly.

The tragic circumstances that arose in Galway can never bring back Savita Halappanavar to her husband, who has lost his wife and her unborn child. The jury and the coroner's inquest concluded with a unanimous verdict of medical misadventure and the jury adopted unanimously the nine recommendations made by the coroner, Dr. Ciarán McLoughlin, who conducted the inquest with a very high degree of professional competence. The HSE is considering the recommendations made by the coroner and some of them are already under way as part of the ongoing clinical and patient safety initiatives within the HSE - for example, the introduction of an early warning system for obstetrics and gynaecology nationally. The HSE presented the final draft report to the solicitor for Mr. Halappanavar on 29 March for his observations and his feedback and I understand the chairman, who is independent of the investigation team, offered to meet Mr. Halappanavar whenever appropriate. Arrangements have been made to set up that meeting.

I do not have the details with regard to the inquest to which Deputy Daly referred in Dublin. I suggest the Deputy request a Topical Issue discussion in respect of the data protection issues.

In regard to the Deputy's third question on legislation with regard to the issue of circumstances in which there is a real and substantial threat to the life of a woman, that matter is under active consideration by the Government. When the Government decides to approve the heads of that Bill, it will be sent to the all-party Oireachtas committee for its observations and for preparation of the legislation involved.

I must say the Taoiseach has not provided a single answer. The words "active consideration" tell me nothing. This House deserves that the legislation be enacted as quickly as possible, because the findings of the inquest left no doubt whatsoever. The finding was that this woman was subjected to serious and shocking mismanagement of her treatment and that she was denied and deprived of proper medical treatment when she needed it. Dr. Peter Boylan has been very clear that the only thing that could have saved her early on was the granting of a termination when she requested it.

I do not know what the Taoiseach is waiting for. Is he waiting for his daughter, my daughter or someone else's wife to be in the same horrendous circumstance that Savita's husband described? Abortion is a health issue. It is a human rights issue. The Minister for Justice and Equality has clearly stated - and I agree with him - that this is also an issue of equality. I am not sure why the Taoiseach feels women's lives are less valuable than men's or why their health should be unnecessarily put at risk. That is what the findings delivered.

I have submitted a lot of questions about Bimbo Onanuga and about the compilation of our maternal mortality rates, which are at variance with the figures. The real figures show a higher rate than that indicated by the Central Statistics Office. This is a concern for all of us. At best, our figures equate to the EU average, rather than the rates we are always sounding on about. I will raise the issues, but the Taoiseach, as the key person in the State representing half of the population, might like to fast-track some of them.

Information which can be gleaned in coroners' reports and public hearings can inform our medical practice for the benefit of all women in the years to come. Delays in that regard do not help anybody.

I completely reject the Deputy's assertion that anybody in this House values the lives of women less than anybody else.

Hear, hear.

I think that is a disgraceful comment for her to make.

She should withdraw it.

I remind Deputy Daly that two lives are involved in each of these cases. She is well aware that each case involves the life of the mother and the life of the unborn. The process the Government is involved in, as it follows through on the expert report, clearly takes some little time. The information meetings held by an Oireachtas committee are feeding into the preparation of the heads of a Bill to deal with this matter in a sensitive, compassionate and understanding manner and in the right way. When the Government clears the heads of the Bill, it will send them to the committee for a full-scale debate so that this issue can be dealt with comprehensively and in the right way. This issue has divided Irish society on a number of occasions in the past 30 years. There are two lives involved here - the life of the mother and the life of the unborn. It is not a matter to be treated flippantly, glibly or with the kind of remarks made by Deputy Daly.

Twenty-one years.

I am quite sure everybody in this House shares the same understanding of, and places the same value on, people's lives. It is not correct for the Deputy Daly to suggest that anybody has a different valuation system when it comes to the lives of women in this country.