Cecilia Keaveney (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail)

I recall going to London with the former Senator Mary Jackman, to look at the issue of Europa Donna and breast cancer. We visited many different hospitals and got one message, namely, that we, as politicians, should never play politics with people's lives. This case is a classic example where consultants should not play God with people's lives, either. I had the sad, daunting or inspiring experience of being on the Joint Committee on Health and Children in the last Dáil, when Patient Focus attended a meeting to outline its case. I have been moved very few times by a committee presentation as I was on that day. One of the contributions to a committee that came anyway close to it in my experience was the presentation by Women's Aid recently about domestic violence. Its representatives described how women were being subjected to domestic violence and said that at least 71% of such cases were alcohol-related. In a sense we were dealing with the alcohol issue and could agree that this was part of the problem, part of the cause. The question here, ultimately, is what was the cause. What can be remedied and what can we learn?

At least we have to learn that it must never happen again. I accept the importance of the new national perinatal epidemiology centre at Cork University Hospital. It is more important than registering births and outcomes. The most important feature is examining how to re-establish trust and ensuring the services given to mothers and their babies born are based on the best possible research. Countries such as Australia have wide experience in looking at both pre-natal and post-natal issues. I know from my role as Chairman of the Joint Committee on Arts, Sport, Tourism, Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs that they put a good deal of effort into music at the pre-natal stage, which helps in childbirth etc.

I have heard, first-hand, the gory details, and indeed the lack of gory details, that is, the lack of the files. I accept that pregnancy is a woman's most vulnerable time. I always thought a woman just got pregnant, had a baby and that was it. However, a close friend recently had a very sad loss. When one is that close to someone and sees the implications of a natural sad loss, it puts in perspective how an unnatural sad loss or the removal of the potential ever to have a child again, through no fault of one's own, must be absolutely awful.

I congratulate Patient Focus. It has been ultra brave. It was at the core of this campaign and was not believed. It was challenging the unchallengeable. I applaud Judge Maureen Harding Clark for what is seen to be a very important piece of literature, her report. People on a professional career path are sometimes loathe to question matters because it might ruin their chances of advancement. There was nothing professional about what happened in these cases. There was nothing to be proud of. This pain must be addressed financially, although money will not heal it.

Speakers have noted that today is International Women's Day but this issue is not a woman's issue. The issue concerns both women and families. We miss the point when we separate issues into those that relate to women or men. This is the most intimate of family issues, involving as it does the creation of another human being.

One speaker asked about what should happen next. We can introduce legislation, examine procedures and establish centres to track and monitor, which is important. The perpetrators must be brought to justice. It is as simple as that. The Medical Practitioners Bill will be very important and put a new focus on the practice of medicine because, ultimately, medical practitioners should not play God or politics but put patients first.

The Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children stated that this report tells the victims' stories, how the health system continually failed them and how women were robbed of their ability to bear children. This is not a story I would wish see written about me and others would not wish to see it written about them. Therefore, I congratulate those who made the matter public and pursued it. I welcome the report, which should be a beginning, rather than an end.

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