Pauline O'Reilly (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I am practically tearing my hair out as, I know, is Senator Chambers, about the inequality in our healthcare services around the country. Time and time again, we are told that things are opening up for women in maternal healthcare and they simply are not. We are not seeing it on the ground. We should not have to take to Instagram, which I have seen countless women do, or Twitter and Facebook to shout for our own rights. It should be a given that there is transparency within our healthcare system with regard to maternity services. I call on the Minister and also the HSE to provide that guidance and reassurance to everyone.

Since I spoke about the issue of the menopause last Tuesday, little did I know that it was going to dominate the airwaves for almost another week after and will probably continue to do so. That is really welcome but it has also been quite an emotional week for an awful lot of women, and indeed, their partners. Several women as young as 30 have contacted me to talk about early menopause. They do not want to be forgotten in the conversation when we speak about how this is perhaps an issue for older women. Let us, therefore, continue that conversation. I also welcome the comments from the Taoiseach around this issue. There really is an opportunity now to have it placed front and centre when it comes to the women's health task force this year and into the future.

I also thank the GPs who have reached out to tell us what will support them in the services they provide. We also need to talk about employers, however. We need to make sure this is an equal Ireland for every woman so that no matter where they work or who their doctor is, they are getting the exact same information and care.

I agree with Senator McDowell about cybersecurity. I will also point out that as we are moving forward to a greener Ireland, it is not just electricity on which we are relying. Much of what we are doing is also ensuring that people have retrofitting in order that they do not need to use as much electricity, and that we also have other forms of transport. It is a small point but not everything will be going electric.We need to invest in cybersecurity, as the last few days have proven. We are moving to a more digitised society, undoubtedly, and putting in the necessary supports is really important.