Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Both the Minister, Deputy Reilly, and the Minister of State, Deputy White, brought a breath of fresh air to the entire health system, particularly to the Department of Health and the Health Service Executive. I hope both of them remain under the remit of that Department and that we can continue the work already started.
On the death of Emma Sloan, and I am not a medical expert, I did not know Emma personally but I know she was involved in a local project where I live in the Bosco youth centre. I believe, because of the way Emma died, that if common sense had been used, she might be alive today. I say that with the greatest respect to the medical profession. Emma was a beautiful young person, and her mother, her family and her friends are devastated by what happened to her.
I refer to the two questions I asked. On the question on nicotine replacement therapy in pregnancy, 35% of the age cohort who have a medical card can avail of free NRT if prescribed by their general practitioner. Is that nicotine patches? We need to define what that means. If so, how many people have sought to avail of that process and thereby not smoke while pregnant? Why are the other 65% who do not have a medical card and who have to go to their GP not being treated equally? They should be. Information from the NHS in England states: "Overall, although the data currently available are limited, the use of NRT in pregnancy does not give undue concern and any harm caused by nicotine replacement must be compared with that caused by continued smoking - which is extremely harmful to both the woman and her child".
I came across this book in a GP waiting room this week. It is called Give Your Baby a Breather. It states: "Being pregnant is a great reason for giving up smoking - one decision that benefits two lives." That is right. I do not know who wrote this book but it is being given to women. It also states: "Be prepared. Think of the things you can do to keep your hands and mouth busy." This is advice to women. It goes on to state: "Doodle with a pen ... (or just chew on the end) [of it]; do some cleaning; file or paint your nails" and to bring it all together it states: "Keep busy. Boredom can make smoking seem more important ... than [you think] it really is." I do not know who wrote this book. It is from the HSE, but it needs to be binned permanently. It must have been written by a man.