Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle for including this important issue in today's Topical Issue debate. This is pregnancy and infant loss remembrance month, a time to mark loss in pregnancy or soon after birth. This is an incredibly sensitive matter which represents tragedy and bereavement for thousands of families. Pregnancy loss in the form of miscarriage or stillbirth occurs in up to one quarter of all pregnancies. This loss can have a devastating impact on parents, other children and family members. It is vital that this particular form of grief and isolation is recognised and supported. Last Friday was the global wave of light when candles on monuments and buildings were lit in the colours pink and blue in memory of lost young lives. I know many families and communities across Ireland marked this day by remembering their own loss or showing solidarity with others.

Féileacáin, the Stillbirth and Neonatal Death Association of Ireland, is a volunteer-led organisation that supports families affected by perinatal loss. This year, it launched the Remember Our Names campaign, which is calling for an immediate amendment to section 8 of the Stillbirth Registration Act 1994 to make the stillbirth register public. Under the current Act, only parents can view the details of infants on the stillbirth register. This register was treated differently to others to protect the privacy of families involved. Reading over the Dáil discussion of this topic over 25 years ago, the motivation of the Minister and Deputies at the time was to recognise the intense personal nature of this matter. However, understanding of pregnancy and infant loss has developed since then, and the families directly affected are calling for a change.

Féileacáin’s Remember Our Names campaign highlights that a mandatory sealing of this register hides away the details of their lost infants. Officially, no one besides the parents could find out about them. Féileacáin is requesting that the 1994 Act be amended to allow families to opt out and to allow their babies' names on the public record. It is also rightly suggesting that any records for the period prior to any legislative change would remain private unless requested by bereaved parents.

This is an issue that families feel very strongly about, and I am sure the Minister of State has seen the very personal stories that some bereaved parents have shared as part of the campaign. One of these stories, Liliana’s story, describes the shock and pain of a stillbirth. Her parent details how it is not a tragic event but “a life-long process where you learn to live in a world that has shifted and you no longer know your place in it”. They go on to explain the impact of the mandatory privacy around the stillbirth registry. Again, I quote her parent, who said:

[Liliana’s] siblings, nieces and nephews have no right to know about her - future generations will not be able to include her in our family trees, despite the fact that she has had such a profound impact on her family. I felt it was an insult to her to hide her away like that.

There, they sum up the issue. They illustrate the additional pain that the current system forces on grieving families. The 1994 Act was passed in the best interests of parents and families and in response to the information available at the time. We now understand things differently. Will the Minister of State look into what can be done to amend the law to help families suffering pregnancy and infant loss?

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