Eileen Flynn (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am going to read from an email I received from Dr. Claire Dunne in respect of the 400 Welcomes campaign. It states:

The people I care for have already lived through horrendous ill-treatment and war. They already had to deal with the awful conditions in the Moria camp, even before this recent tragedy. Now the Minister for children, Minister O'Gorman, is saying that just four children are allowed to come to Ireland without parents or guardians.

The doctor goes on to state that as an Irish doctor working there and caring for those children, she feels deeply ashamed right now and that Ireland has the power to do so much more. I totally agree with Dr. Dunne. I wish to take this opportunity to call on us all, as political leaders, to listen to the voice of Dr. Dunne and to the thousands of people across Ireland who are emailing their politicians this week. They demand we make it possible to take in at least 400 children and adults, who should be allowed to come to Ireland for safety and refuge. We have a legal and moral responsibility to stand up for those in greater need. I urge all Members, especially, the Minister for Justice and Equality and the Minister with responsibility for children to respond to this humanitarian crisis.

I will move to another topic around maternity care in Ireland and people who are pregnant and giving birth. We can all agree that having a baby is the most life-changing and deeply emotional time that a woman, especially, can experience, as well as a family overall. I call on the Minister for Health to listen and respond to the 50,000 signatures from the petition prepared by Uplift to improve the current situation in hospitals in Ireland for women who are having a child at this time. It is not just about Covid-19. Right now, we must care for everybody across all of the health service as well as managing the Covid-19 crisis. I call on the Minister to come in and respond to us on this.