Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independents 4 Change) | Oireachtas source

First, I would like to thank the Labour Party for bringing this important Bill before the Dáil today. Yesterday, the Government pushed forward two amendments to our Constitution in the name of gender equality, ignoring all opposition, to set-up a referendum on International Women’s Day. Today, it kicks the can down the road on legislation that would make a real, material difference to women’s lives and to gender inequality in the workplace. It really lays bare what this Government cares about, namely, symbolic expressions of progressivism without any real intent to materially improve people’s lives or situations. It has rushed through the 39th and 40th amendments to the Constitution. There was no wait for pre-legislative scrutiny or committee hearings and no wait to consider the differences between its proposals and the Oireachtas group or the citizens' assembly. Yet, it has introduced an amendment to this Bill to include a 12-month wait for legislation that makes an important, material difference to women’s lives.

Some 14,000 women go through an early miscarriage each year, 20% of whom will experience post traumatic stress disorder after their loss and 16% to 18% will suffer from anxiety and depression. Twenty days are not too much at all to ask for when you have experienced such a loss, and yet this Government will not embrace and welcome this Bill and work with in committee to progress it.

As has been said, one in six heterosexual couples will experience trouble conceiving. Many will turn to IVF or other reproductive care options. There are significant financial implications. There are significant time implications. Again, ten days is not at all too much to ask to help in this process to ease the stress and the pressure. Yet, again, this Government seems to think that is far too much for women or their partners to ask.

The 2019 member survey by the INTO makes this issue even clearer. Some 60% of their members had experienced reproductive health issues in work. More than 75% used school breaks to schedule care as they had no other way to take time-off for it. This has a direct effect on people’s lives. The vast majority of INTO members in 2019 - 88% of them - supported negotiations for reproductive care leave. More than 93% of members who had experienced reproductive health-related matters supported it. This legislation came out of this survey, I believe.

This is a big part of women’s lives. It is increasingly having more and more of an effect. We need real action on this and pushing this Bill down the road for 12 months when the Government has an opportunity to address this now is a complete failure to take any action at all.

There is significant support for this from unions. The INTO supports this, as does Fórsa and the Irish Congress of Trade Unions supports reproduction care leave. Trade unions are the biggest organisations in the country that represent women. The Government is ignoring a problem that unions and their members are telling it is staring it in the face. If it was in any way serious about gender equality, or on addressing the historical issues that have restricted women’s ability to live free, independent lives in this country, it would be rushing legislation like this through, and not questionable referendums.

If we want to support women in the workplace and their ability to control their own lives, we need to provide real, material changes and supports. The Government is not doing that because, in my opinion, it cares far more about getting in an empty, progressive win before the next election than it does about making meaningful or materiel changes to people’s lives.

The Minister gave a list of problems with this Bill, all of which could be teased out on Committee Stage. We could move very quickly on Committee Stage to tease these issues out. We could see this Bill coming through within the year. Instead, the Government is just burying it and it is shameful.

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