Women volunteers providing eggs for in-vitro fertilisation procedures were in some cases risking their lives, Dr Mary Henry (Ind) said.
Renewing her call for steps to regulate the provision of IVF services, she wanted to applaud the clinic which said it was going to be involved in the collection of human eggs, because it did not have to make such a disclosure.
"I suppose we would find out because of advertisements that would have to be put in the papers to attract healthy young women to come forward and donate their eggs from an altruistic point of view. But there are no legal provisions such as there are in every other country in the western world which has in-vitro fertilisation as developed as we have. "I have to say to the Minister, are we going to wait for some very serious medical accident or some serious court case to occur before we take any notion about doing something in this area?"
The collection of eggs is a complicated technique which required invasion of the women's body and the taking of some drugs which could, in certain circumstances, lead to the death of the woman, Dr Henry added.
"Are we now in an area where people who are not patients but healthy volunteers are being asked to take part in procedures which have a risk for their lives? I suggest to the Minister that if action is not taken we will end up with some unfortunate accident."
Having brought in her own Bill five months ago, in an unsuccessful effort to introduce regulation, she wondered what was the delay in dealing with the situation. "You don't have to be in favour of in-vitro fertilisation to want some legislation in the area so that it is regulated. I would suggest to the Minister that it is just because this is what is considered one of the sensitive issues in this country that no further effort is being made to do anything about an area which is crying out for urgent action."
Mr Frank Fahey, Minister of State at the Department of Hea lth and Children, said techniques such as IVF and the freezing of sperm and ova were available in Ireland and these programmes fell within the Medical Council guidelines. The guidelines applied only to registered medical practioners and would be ineffective in the case of any service operated by other persons.
"The pace of new developments and the possibility of entry of less scrupulous interests into this field raised questions about how best it should be regulated."