Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister. There are a number of advantages to placing this on the Statute Book. It recognises that the issue is a practical one that affects people and that a legislative response is appropriate. Another great advantage is that it allows people to simply call their HR department and invoke their right, or ask their partners to do it on their behalf. It would be automatic and there would be certainty to the matter, which is really important. Many of us have had miscarriages. I have had a miscarriage. It can take a long time. One can see on a screen one week that things are not going well and then have this confirmed the following week. One may need to be admitted to hospital. These things can take time and they are very emotionally draining. The Lancet this month has a brilliant editorial on how we think about miscarriage and how that narrative could be reconceived. It says that, for too long, miscarriage has been minimised and often dismissed and that dealing with a combination of private grief, misconceptions and guilt can lead to women putting more pressure on themselves than is necessary. I thank the Minister for his response and invite him to invite me to help him with his research, as somebody in the Dáil who has been through this.

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