Garret Ahearn (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We heard the positive and welcome news this weekend that the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee, is expecting a child. It is the first time in the history of the State that has happened with someone who is a sitting Cabinet Minister. I congratulate her. It reminds me that this week last year I had the fortune of having the life-changing experience of seeing a newborn being delivered.

We are still in a situation, however, where partners, husbands, wives and parents, whomever the one guardian might be that someone would need while going through labour, cannot be present all the time. There seem to be different rules in different hospitals regarding how long a partner can stay with a woman going through labour. As anyone who has gone through the experience knows, it is not just one hour of delivering the baby that is involved, it is everything that goes with it. I refer to going into the hospital, being there and being present as a comfort for the partner who is in hospital. In my experience, the labour went on for two days. There is also, then, the experience of leaving hospital, hopefully in a positive way and with a newborn.

People have not been able to experience that in recent months. As we talk about reopening Ireland, what can be done in this area has not been examined. It seems every hospital has different rules, depending on where a woman is having a child. In the unfortunate situation where things do not go well, it is extremely difficult if there is no support available from a partner, or a parent, or someone who can provide help through that experience. We are still in a situation where women are going into hospital and receiving news alone. I ask if the Leader could talk to representatives from the Department of Health and seek some recommendations in respect of a bit more leniency on that front.