Fiona O'Loughlin (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome our guests, who are waiting patiently here. It is lovely to see them. Best wishes also for our junior certificate students today. It is a big day for them because they are getting their results. We wish them well in all that is going to be in front of them over the next few years.

I refer to the announcement that was made very early yesterday morning - actually, during the night - in respect of section 39 workers. As we all know, those who are working in section 39 organisations - we have about 1,500 of them - do incredible work, particularly in the context of providing disability services and working with older people. For many years they have had massive inequality in terms of pay, while providing vital services to our society and community. They had been long looking for pay parity with their colleagues in the HSE and the restoration of pay. This is something I and my party have always supported. I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, and her colleagues for arriving at the 8% pay increase that was announced yesterday.

This month is breast cancer awareness month. I thank Senator Ardagh for organising all of us to meet with the Irish Cancer Society yesterday. There is a need to bring about awareness of this. Some 3,700 new cases of breast cancer are diagnosed annually, with about one in nine women affected in their lifetime and 30 men every year also. It is a time to remind all the women in our lives of the importance of screening and of checking ourselves regularly. I want to raise an issue regarding the treatment of survivors. Any woman who has undergone a mastectomy is entitled to a first fit of a mastectomy bra, a breast prosthesis and a special swimsuit, all free of charge. Medical card holders are entitled to further mastectomy bras, prostheses and swimsuits annually. However, to avail of this, every woman has to go to her GP and go through all that administrative burden. There has to be a better way of doing it. It is demeaning for women to have to do that for something they are entitled to. There should be something like a register of those who are entitled, and maybe a card they could present at the shop of their choice. It is worth considering.

Today is World Menopause Day. We will be taking a motion in this regard later. It is important to raise awareness about the menopause. We have seen a lot of really good improvements in menopause care under the Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly. I want to give a shout-out to Loretta Dignam of the Menopause Hub, which held awards last week for workplaces that are working on ensuring they are good, supportive places for women going through the menopause. We should have more of it.