Kathleen Funchion (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank my colleague, Deputy Cullinane, for bringing forward the motion. This is the conclusion of the debate. We know that there are very serious concerns. These are not just the concerns of those of us in the Opposition, but of a great many women throughout the country. Unfortunately, these concerns arise from the history of the State's treatment of women. We have had several discussions in this Chamber on many issues in respect of women but particularly in respect of women's health. Some of these issues are not as historical as others. The CervicalCheck scandal is not so long ago in our history. There were also issues around breast cancer screening. The list is endless. My colleagues have made the point that this needs to be a State-run hospital. That is really important because many health services for women are just not adequate and not at the races. There have been discussions about menopause. It got to the point where there were discussions on the national airwaves. People had to ring into national programmes before there was any sort of recognition of the amount of work that has to be done. Women literally left without being diagnosed as perimenopausal and all of the other things that come with that.

I will also mention endometriosis, a very serious condition which many women suffer from. It is often misdiagnosed and not treated. Countless women have had difficulties and issues with the condition, which can seriously affect fertility and other things later in life if not addressed. Last year, when the Dáil was sitting in the convention centre, I told the story of somebody very close to me who was misdiagnosed for years. She was actually in a gown going for a gallbladder operation at the age of 25 when luckily somebody had the cop-on and common sense to suggest that a scan of the uterus be done. That had not been done up to that point. She was diagnosed with endometriosis. This person's gallbladder was about to be removed. She was in the gown, ready and fasted from the night before. That is the type of service that, unfortunately, women have got used to.

That should not happen. It is unacceptable and disgraceful. In not having a fully State-run and State-owned hospital, women are afraid this kind of treatment will continue. That is before we even get into the whole debate about the knock-on effect for the services arising from the successful repeal of the eighth amendment in 2018.

I am out of time. Women have been failed badly in this State. We have an opportunity now to have the first-class maternity hospital we all want and which we all know is overdue but that hospital must be State-run and State-owned.

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