Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Members who contributed and I am delighted there is cross-party support for the motion. I am especially delighted for the mothers and fathers who are present in the Gallery to watch the debate as they seek a fairer system for mothers of premature babies. Present legislation and policy abjectly ignores, and is cruel in its disregard for, the huge unforeseen pressure and turmoil families face when caring for a premature baby. In some cases, parents from the country are compelled to travel for up to four hours on a daily commute to a neonatal intensive care unit. They incur significant expenses in medical care, accommodation, parking, transport and food and this puts severe stress on parents and their other children. At the time of a baby's arrival, parents' concerns, worries and anxieties are naturally focused on the baby's safe well-being and progress.

At that time, maternity leave and maternity benefit may be one of the last things on a mother's mind but it will not take long until the mother faces the reality of being treated by the State in a markedly different and unfair way compared to mothers fortunate enough to give birth to full-term babies. Under current legislation, a mother, despite being shattered and exhausted after this unexpected and prolonged rollercoaster experience, will have used up the majority of her maternity leave before her baby even makes the first long-awaited journey home. Extending maternity leave and maternity benefits for the mothers of premature babies, as we seek in this motion, will give the support needed at a time of such upheaval and stress. This in turn will lead to better post-natal health, a better outcome for the baby, and eventually a better and more positive return to work. It is truly awful that mothers are not getting this support already because when premature babies finally get discharged from hospital, they need their mothers more than ever and their mothers need to be with them too.

Tá deis againn anocht teacht le chéile chun tacaíocht a thabhairt do mháithreacha. Tá ríméad orm go bhfuil an chuma air go bhfuilimid ar tí an deis sin a thapú agus, mar sin, a léiriú gur féidir leis an bpolaitíocht nua an beart a dhéanamh. Is féidir linn fíordhifríocht a dhéanamh anocht go na glúnta atá le teacht.

The words of support spoken tonight offer hope and reassurance to thousands of mothers in Ireland. I welcome the words of support but words alone will not be enough. It is way past time for real, concrete action. Although I welcome the Government's support of this motion and its intention to address this issue in the family leave Bill, I ask it to treat the issue with a greater sense of urgency. I urge the Government to commit to providing for the extension of maternity leave and maternity benefit for mothers of premature babies in the budget this autumn. As mentioned earlier in the debate this evening, providing for this in the upcoming budget should come in at a cost of approximately €5.4 million. That is a relatively small cost that could make such an incredible difference for mothers of premature babies.

I conclude by saying if we are to truly cherish all of our nation's children, then we also need to cherish all mothers equally by supporting them in their devoted care for their children.

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