Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I warmly congratulate my colleague, Deputy Gino Kenny, on hosting the recent briefing by the Endometriosis Association of Ireland in our audiovisual room. We heard striking testimonies from young women who have been treated appallingly by our health system over the years in terms of the diagnosis and treatment and this debilitating disease. As Deputy Gino Kenny said, one in ten women suffers from endometriosis. Approximately 155,000 women in Ireland have the condition. Of course, the average time for diagnosis is an astonishing nine years. I agree with Deputy Coppinger in this regard. It again highlights the fundamental issue of women's health outcomes and the gender bias in medicine generally.

The chair of the Endometriosis Association of Ireland, Ms Kathleen King, told us that Irish women are having more ineffectual surgeries than their counterparts, sometimes up to 20, and that there is a lack of specialists in the area. The women affected want much greater education on and awareness of the disease and menstruation in general. Young girls need to know that severe menstrual cramps are not normal and that medics need to investigate these issues fully rather than putting young girls on the contraceptive pill for years when the real cause of pain is not discovered until infertility issues arise later in life.

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