Kathleen Funchion (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I was also going to ask about trauma-informed supports. Part of the difficulty is that when people contact us as Deputies and Senators we direct them to the national helpline. I know there is no waiting time for those who are survivors of mother and baby institutions but often people will not engage in the process because they know it will not be of much benefit. It is a missed opportunity when people do want to reach out and go for counselling if this is the only service that is there. Do the witnesses want to say any more on this?

Will the representatives from Oak Conflict Dynamics speak about the consultations they have had on the medical card? We have spoken about this on a number of occasions. In the previous session I said many women, particularly because of how they were left to give birth in horrific circumstances, have had medical issues for their whole lives. I fear the enhanced medical card will not be what people think it will be if they are to join a public waiting system that is creaking at the seams. What feedback did the witnesses get on this? For many of the women I have come across it is a key issue.

Will Dr. Byrne speak more about the in uteroexperience? It is quite fascinating. Senator Clonan made the point in the first session that some of those in mother and baby institutions were sent there when they were three or four months pregnant. What are the potential impacts of this compared with somebody who was not in a mother and baby institution in utero? I find this quite interesting. It will be helpful for us if we are trying to look at changing the timeframes. We do not necessarily have the power to do this. We can make recommendations as a committee. It would be helpful for us to have heard some of the contributions.