Fiona O'Loughlin (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It is riveting to listen to people. I acknowledge Senator Seery Kearney's contribution and the pain she has endured.

I know the Minister of State, Deputy English, to be a compassionate man. I have no doubt he will take this debate in that vein. I commend my male colleagues for being here. Too often when we have debates on what are perceived as women's health issues, there is a lack of the male voice. It is refreshing to see so many of my male colleagues here today. It is really important because the journey of fertility and the journey of loss is as much a matter for the man as it is for their partner. I, again, thank my male colleagues for being here.

I thank my colleagues, Senators Bacik and Sherlock, for bringing this motion before us. It is very timely. I was reminded on my Facebook memories feed that three years ago we had the opportunity to discuss women's health and women's right to choose. Yesterday evening at 8 p.m. the RTÉ Radio 1 "Drama on One" was a play entitled "No One Ever Asked Me That", which was incredible. It was the story of two friends, Jenny and Clare, who were on opposite sides of the same journey. One of them had discovered she was pregnant when she really did not want to be for various reasons and the other, a best friend, was desperately trying to get pregnant. The loss and tragedy for both of them and their partners was well illustrated. At the time, I was driving from my mother's home to my own home and I remained in the car for 25 minutes to listen to the end of the story. It was compelling. Fair play to RTÉ for dealing with both sides of the issue so sensitively.

It is important to recognise that the programme for Government provides for a welcome shift in regard to women's health. The Minister for Health, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, and the Ministers of State in the Department of Health have done a huge amount of work in this area in the last ten months. The Minister has established a women's health fund, introduced two community-based ambulatory gynaecology services, expanded the endometriosis service and, the day before yesterday, announced a clinical lead for women's health in general practice to enable the development of a comprehensive life course approach to women's health, which is a first for Ireland. The Free Provision of Period Products Bill 2021 has been adopted by the Government as well. We are on a positive trajectory in terms of the work being done in regard to surrogacy, IVF and assisted human reproductive services, all of which are important.

The loss of a child is incredibly traumatic. It brings many emotions. I thank, in particular, those who have shared their stories with me, and not just over the last few days. I refer to a friend, Jackie Tyrell, who spoke publicly about her loss, and her partner Carl's loss, of twin boys eight years ago. I learned so much from her, including about Féileacáin and the incredible work it does to support those who have had miscarriages and stillbirths. Once a person reaches out, there is incredible support and love available to them from volunteers across the country. I know of so many women, including my mother, who knitted shawls and cardigans for their baby and, where appropriate, hired a photographer to take photographs so that they could have a lifelong memory of the child.

As I said, I welcome and support the Bill. I acknowledge the work of the INTO. I was a member of the INTO for many years. Many principals that I know, when faced with this situation, were very understanding and compassionate and granted the leave, but it is important there is a legislative framework for would-be mums and would-be dads when they are going through a very difficult time. The Government has already committed to further research, which I welcome. It will be undertaken by the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, in conjunction with the Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly. A separate piece of stand-alone legislation on existing family leave would be appropriate for miscarriage and reproductive health leave. That is important, in particular to all of those who are listening in and are touched by this topic, which may be far more people than any of us will ever know. I have heard some stories and I know of some struggles, but there are many whose struggles I do not know about. It is important they know that we are having this debate about trying to make their journey a little easier in the future. That is as much as we can do. Sadly, as we know, annually 16,000 babies are not born. We need to hold their parents in our hearts and do what we can to help them on their journey of loss and grief.