Mary O'Rourke (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this important debate. I am glad the Fine Gael Party tabled this motion which provides me with an opportunity to speak on this issue.

When news of this issue broke one immediately felt a rush of sympathy for the women to whom this had happened. Like Deputy Kathleen Lynch I too believe there are many women throughout the country who are wondering if this happened to them or who feel quite sure it happened to them. Any woman of my age will recall when such matters were part and parcel of everyday life. One is immediately suffused with sympathy for women who endured this trauma or who remain perplexed wondering "if" or "Could it have been so?" This would be particularly acute where a woman had not had other children or, perhaps, a child of a particular sex. It is a sad story. The women and, perhaps, men involved are I am sure wrought with sorrow at what happened to them.

Deputy Conlon stated earlier that there were women who shouted "Stop, I think I am still pregnant; I know I am still pregnant" and who demanded somebody listen to them. One woman attended a third specialist for a scan which showed her baby had not been miscarried. I am sure she and her husband or partner were thrilled and delighted to learn the baby they had conceived had not been miscarried. What that woman did took some guts.

Deputy Conlon was correct when she said that there was a time when whatever one's gynaecologist said was considered gospel. One just listened, bowed one's head and was glad to have such a noble person, always a man, to guide one through the labyrinth path to child birth. One always believed one was a lucky soul to have such a wonderful man - I was lucky as I am sure were other women so there is no point putting down all men - taking care of one's gynaecological explorations.

I am taken by the fact that maternity services in Ireland are, by international standards, of high quality. Maternal prenatal mortality and infant mortality are low by comparison with other jurisdictions. Women can be satisfied and confident, as they come to use this service and move through their gestation period that they are operating in an environment which is by international standards safe and sure.

Questions were raised in the House this evening in regard to the role of the Health Service Executive. I accept there are many great people in the HSE who provide a really good service. I am sure that at a local or regional level we all know some of them. However, the HSE is too large to manage. When issues such as this arise people immediately blame the HSE, which is unfair in terms of the good service it provides. Its name does not instil trust in people, perhaps because it is too vast as an organisation. Although we all had trouble with the old health boards - people used to complain about specific boards - at least we used to be able to deal with local people at specific locations.

I hope we will never again have incidents like those mentioned in the motion that has been tabled, which we have had an opportunity to discuss. I do not think we will. Women should never again have to feel they have been dreadfully sort-changed in some way. I applaud those who came forward with good and bad stories. The good stories were uplifting, especially when they were accompanied by delightful photographs of children between the ages of two and five, who are here by the grace of God. I salute the character of those women who pursued their correct suspicions that they remained pregnant.

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