Mary Seery Kearney (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Any initiative that alleviates period poverty is to be applauded. Menstruation is an absolute necessity to the very existence of our species and yet we hesitate in speaking about it. Ridiculously, an advertisement that spoke directly and usefully about how to use a tampon was complained about and discontinued - too shocking and too blunt for our moral sensitivities. It speaks of a huge need for education and normalising of the subject and of this most normal of bodily functions.

I was very fortunate to have a very progressive mother who sat me down at the age of ten to give me all of the facts of life in a natural and fabulously normal way. When periods came they were supported and cherished but that is not the case for everyone. Many girls, women, trans and non-binary persons who menstruate experience period poverty in the management of their periods. That is totally unacceptable and it has to stop.

I am very grateful to those who have gone before me in lighting the way to this matter including Plan International Ireland for its considerable work, Homeless Period Ireland for its tireless work and the councils, including Senator Moynihan who, as a councillor, took the decision to supply period products in the past number of years. I am not new to this subject either. I have been active for a considerable amount of time and have worked quietly with others in my close circle of friends in the funding of provision of period products.

It is awful to experience the pain and discomfort of menstruation without being able to deal with it in a manner that is respectful and without shame or embarrassment. I have often wondered what the world would be like if men had periods. Would forcemajeure leave include the reason of menstruation? Would pain relief be included with period products in the pack? Would period products be open and freely available? Would menstruation still have its obligatory forbearance, shame and embarrassment? I suspect not. Instead, we live in a world where the vast majority of those who menstruate are women, who are more likely to be in the lower income groups, to be the head of lone parent families and to be living in precarious tenure and precarious employment. Consequently, they are more likely to experience period poverty.

Over the past few days, in preparation for the forthcoming debates on the legislation, I conducted an online survey. Of the replies to that, 1% did not believe that it existed, 20% never experienced it and of those who did, 25% do not use formal period products, and one person elaborated to tell me the choices she is obliged to make between feeding her children and other necessary costs over the choice of period products.

In making provisions for period products we need to be very careful about any assumptions we make based on the projection of our own choices. We now have a society that is multicultural and multifaith. Cultural differences mean that the sales of period products are changing, tipping back in favour of sanitary pads from tampons. Those who are conscious of the environmental impact of period products advocate for the use of the menstrual cup, a silicone cup that is inserted to collect menstrual fluid and can be reused safely and hygienically.

The products made available must respect that diversity of choice. So also the entities and organisations chosen to provide those products must not influence that choice. We must enshrine that choice to those who menstruate. The placement of the product must respect the diversity of users, including trans and non-binary menstruating people. Placing them in a women's toilet, therefore, will not be sufficient. Equally, care must be given to ensure the accessibility of all products.

If we are to distribute period products to schools we need to include primary schools to ensure that those menstruating from as young and as early as seven and eight, as reported, are also included. What happens when schools are closed for holidays and, for instance, during this Covid-19 pandemic? How are the products being accessed? Should we be including the provision of period products as part of the medical card entitlement?

I welcome the report published today. It calls for a comprehensive addressing of the issue of stigma and sets out ways in which that might be achieved. The report suggests a pathway to provision via established networks and NGOs and makes sensitive suggestions around that provision. It further suggests solutions on the subject of VAT.That needs to be addressed at an EU level. I have already contacted our MEPs, Maria Walsh and Frances Fitzgerald, and sought their support in lobbying for member state discretion in the VAT equalisation directive.

The report addresses the fact that funding is required to support any initiative in this area. I believe it is a comprehensive report which provides a pathway for consideration of all of the necessary steps to true period poverty alleviation. I therefore urge that we take on board all that the report urges us to do and find out before we move to the next stage of legislation, so we make sure we have a gold standard of provision that reflects the careful inclusion and consideration that is required. I fear that if we rush, we will end up with merely a nod to provision and tokenism instead of a truly transformative, empowering end to period poverty. We need to be ambitious and be dedicated in that ambition. I hope that it will be a matter of weeks, at most a couple of months, between Second Stage and Committee Stage so that we can ensure a gold standard and end period poverty.