Duncan Smith (Dublin Fingal East, Labour)

I thank Sinn Féin for this really detailed, strong motion that has been presented tonight, and I thank our party's spokesperson, Marie Sherlock, for sharing time. As a former party spokesperson on health, nothing has struck me more than the cases of women who have come to me to explain to me the pain, the silencing, the suffering and the exclusion they have felt as women in this country suffering from endometriosis. This motion from Sinn Féin says everything that needs to be said because it focuses on diagnosis. The calls in the motion are clear, they make sense and they are step by step. They include imaging, protocols, resourcing, awareness training and training for healthcare professionals. It is about cutting the time of diagnosis, those years of being silenced and all the pain.

Then we get the countermotion. It is about waiting lists being cut and women not being long on waiting lists. It is taking them, on average, seven years - if they can get on a waiting list - because of the delays in diagnosis. The countermotion the Government has put forward does not answer the very good motion that has been put forward by Sinn Féin. It is angering. There are women in the Gallery who have been crying almost non-stop since this debate started. The issue is finally having a proper airing on the floor of the house, but the answers they are looking for from the Government they are not getting.

This is not a usual motion. This is not a usual Tuesday evening. When we describe any healthcare issue in this country and within that description is the line "women are travelling abroad for healthcare", we know we are getting it wrong. We are getting it wrong and we are not doing enough. I ask the Minister to withdraw her amendment and support the motion that has been put forward. It is a really good motion, it makes sense and it is achievable.

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