Sharon Keogan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Bacik for bringing the Bill before the House. Last year, Meghan Markle documented in an article published in The New York Timesher personal experience of miscarriage. Her words have instigated an open and public discussion on the topic which truly underscores the need for the Bill. She wrote, "Losing a child means carrying an almost unbearable grief, experienced by many but talked about by few." I agree with her comments. Women who have experienced miscarriages have often suffered in silence, without public or private support. It is only right for the Oireachtas to recognise that losing a child before birth is heartbreaking for parents, as Meghan Markle pointed out, and requires time for healing. It is only right for the Oireachtas to recognise the inadequacies of Ireland's current stance on reproductive health leave. It is only right for us to support the Bill.

In the briefing paper prepared for Senators on the Bill, we are informed that one in five pregnancies in Ireland each year ends in miscarriage. One in five parents experience that unbearable grief. One in five pregnancies annually leave parents heartbroken and possibly in need of support. Up to 14,000 women a year suffer the death of a baby before 24 weeks' gestation and yet, as pointed out by Niamh Connolly-Coyne, a member of the board of directors of the Irish Neonatal Health Alliance, there is no statutory entitlement to paid leave for parents who experience the tragedy of miscarriage.

The Bill proposes up to 20 days' leave for women and their partners who suffer early miscarriage. If a woman has a stillborn birth that weighs more than 500 g and has died after 24 weeks' gestation, she is entitled to full maternity leave for 26 weeks as outlined in the Maternity Protection Act 1994 and the Maternity Protection (Amendment) Act 2004. Paternity leave is also a statutory entitlement in those circumstances. The fact the Government offers no statutory protection for a woman who loses her baby a mere week earlier is unacceptable, as the Irish Neonatal Health Alliance has explained. It urges the Government to address this matter urgently, as do I. We must ask what difference there is between 23 weeks' gestation and 24 weeks' gestation for a woman who is grieving the loss of her baby. It does not matter to a woman whether she has miscarried her child or the child was stillborn. As Mario Rosenstock remarked in an interview with The Irish Timeslast week, "It is the expectation and the burgeoning life that is coming, and it’s your preparation for the expectation of life coming into the world, and then for that to be cancelled is so sad and shocking." What is the Government doing to offer support to these parents?

Irish women should have the entitlements the Bill would offer them. I hope this debate and the ultimate passage of the Bill will ensure the conversation about miscarriage will take place and that women and their families will be able to make that healing journey a bit more easily. Let us not be naive as we consider the full effects of this legislation. First, it has brought to light a number of issues in Irish law and healthcare concerning reproduction and fertility. Under the Stillbirths Registration Act 1994, there is no provision to register babies who die before 24 weeks gestation. The Irish-registered Neonatal Death Alliance has suggested that today's Bill contains measures that will allow an opt-in recognition of these babies. Will the Bill include these measures?

Furthermore, there is no provision in Irish law to help cover the costs of a child's death. The Irish Neonatal Health Alliance has commended Kildare County Council, as Senator Currie mentioned earlier. Will this Bill include the provision for a children's funeral fund as implemented in the UK and Wales? Many undertakers in this country do not charge for funerals of stillborn babies and I commend those who provide that service.

What about the implications of the Bill as written regardless of the amendments that may be made? Will it make employers in the private sector more reluctant to hire women given the potential cost of providing leave for them? The Bill proposes an entitlement of up to ten days of leave for anyone who seeks reproductive healthcare treatments such as IVF. The Bill is not clear about all of the treatments and types of losses where people are entitled to leave. Will women who are expecting but experience a loss after an abortion be included in the Bill? Without clarity on such issues can we have clarity on how the Bill will have an impact on women in the labour force?

The legislation we are debating today is proposed in response to concerns by members of Ireland's labour forces. Representatives of the INTO approached Senator Bacik for assistance with the matter and, undoubtedly, the Oireachtas must respond. There is a certain humanity and respect owed to this situation that Meghan Markle and Mario Rosenstock, and many women and fathers who have lost their child, have described equally as heartbreaking in this manner and the current Irish law is missing that. However, in their response the legislators must carefully consider the scope of the reproductive health leave Bill. The legislators must discuss and consider what amendments will be made to this Bill and the likely impact that it will have on females in the labour force and women business owners. I have been a business owner throughout my career and employers have responsibilities towards their employees. I know that one's employees are the last thing one should think about when one is having a child but one does worry who will pay the wages to staff. As a woman in business, I found it hard to comprehend why there was never anything in legislation that affords women and others in business maternity leave, paternity leave or, indeed, leave to cover a miscarriage. We should address this matter but I do not know how that will be done. We must help women in business and women entrepreneurs who feel responsible for their employees.