Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, United Left) | Oireachtas source

We are not the only ones asking these questions but Justice for Magdalenes is also raising these concerns. I asked the Minister last week if she had contacted that organisation to give it a full picture of what the State is putting in place, including the legislation and what she says she is considering outside it. That would have been a better approach and given the Justice for Magdalenes group more clarification.

I received an e-mail from Justice for Magdalenes stating that it agrees women need to receive a comprehensive guide to the card as soon as possible, the equivalent of appendix G of the Quirke report, before they can be satisfied they are receiving what was promised. If such a guide is not available now who knows when the Health Service Executive, HSE, will get around to designing it and making the card available? The Minister is referring to a simplistic list of services given as bullet points on page 35 of the Quirke report instead of appendix G, which he explicitly points to in his first recommendation as containing the full set of services the women should get. The Minister claims the women will receive dental, ophthalmic and aural services, counselling etc. and says therefore the Quirke report has been complied with. There is, however, a massive difference between the medical card standard and health amendment Act, HAA, card standards for these services. The Bill still limits women to medical card standard dental, ophthalmic and aural services based on the 1970 Act, drugs and appliances, counselling for the women only, not their relatives, and covers no complementary therapies, massage, acupuncture, aromatherapy and no liaison officers. These are the issues Justice for Magdalenes has raised. The Minister should consider amendments Nos. 17, 18 and 19 to address this issue.

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