Róisín Garvey (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, to the House. This is a very sad issue for me, or any woman, to have to speak about. Over the past few years, I have often sat at home and cried while watching and listening to various people on television and on radio speak about this horrendously bad hand that people were dealt through no fault of their own. I have regular cervical smear checks. During one check irregular cells were detected, but in time to enable them to be removed. Lucky me. Unfortunately, that was not the case for many women. It is important that this amending legislation is enacted as soon as possible to provide for more time for the women who were not as fortunate as me to go forward with the tribunal if they deem it suitable for them. The restoration of trust meeting is important but care needs to be taken in regard to the gender balance in that regard. I am not a feminist or anti-man but this matter raises again the issue of the latent patriarchy within which we live. We, men and women, do not value women and their bodies in the same way that men have not been oppressed in that way. This is the reason we had to take to the streets in regard to other rights such as the repeal of the eighth amendment. We have to take time to consider if there are too many men in charge of the healthcare system and if we are doing our best to represent all genders by ensuring there is gender equality.

This is a good amendment. It gives people more time. One wonders if this was men's services would this have happened. We have to think about that. There has never been any issue with prostate cancer checks. It is important that we think about that. I am not suggesting I am perfect. I might be a little sexist. We have the patriarchy in us; we were raised in it, but women are 51% of the population. It is time to get things right on every level. The gender pay gap legislation is very helpful in that regard. I do not believe the Minister is sexist. We should all be more aware of that go-to of making preconceptions about people. We need to value women's bodies much more. The Government has more to do to reassure women to have cervical smear checks because that service is still in doubt. Each time we discuss the cervical smear scandal and the tribunal it causes further doubt about the service. We will need reassurance in that regard.