THE government is coming under increasing pressure to legislate on stem cell research as two more Irish colleges are expected to follow University College Cork (UCC) and carry out trials.

Scientists in NUI Galway (NUIG) say they plan to seek permission from the university governing body to use stem cells, while the management at Trinity College Dublin said they are considering following the example set by UCC which last week announced it was allowing embryonic stem cells to be used by scientists.

Ronan Mullen, an independent senator and pro-life campaigner, is planning to publish a private members’ bill banning all research on human embryos. Mullen said the government needs to act urgently to “protect human life” in the wake of UCC’s decision.

The universities are operating in a legal vacuum because the government has not passed any laws on stem cell research. The Department of Health said it was “engaged in complex preliminary work” and awaiting a report from an Oireachtas committee on health and a judgment from the Supreme Court in a case involving the fate of a couple’s frozen embryos.

UCC’s researchers are now allowed to use stem cells lines from aborted embryos. Irish researchers have before this been restricted to using stem cells extracted from adults.

Mullen said his view that embryos should be protected is shared by “the majority” of the Seanad and that UCC was “hypocritical and wrong” in its decision. His bill, to be published on November 26, would prohibit researchers using stem cells derived from embryos.

Frank Barry, scientific director of Remedi, a regenerative medicine centre in NUIG, welcomed UCC’s decision. “It’s a positive step and the right thing to do because it opens up new research opportunities and forces discussion about an area which hasn't been addressed by Irish law,” he said.

Remedi is working with adult stem cells to develop a treatment for osteoarthritis. In 2010 it plans to hold the first human stem cell trials in Ireland, injecting the cells into patients’ knees.

Barry said Remedi is focusing on adult stem cells but he expects to apply to NUIG by the end of 2009 for permission to investigate embryonic stem cells. “I would expect researchers in all Irish colleges to go through the same process as UCC and seek approval from the governing authorities,” he said.

Ferdinand von Prondzynski, president of Dublin City university, said any proposals for embryonic stem cell research would be examined by the college’s ethics committee. “There are clearly significant ethical issues to be addressed, but these require a more informed debate than we appear to be having.”

Two government-commissioned reports have recommended that embryonic stem cell research be legislated for, but with restrictions. In the absence of legislation, practising doctors face being struck off by the Irish Medical Council for carrying out research on embryonic stem cells.

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