Annie Hoey (Labour) | Oireachtas source

Senator Doherty talked about this as an issue that is in the shadows. If the House will be good enough to indulge me, I would like to share some of the evidence and testimony that was gathered in advance of putting this Bill together. This work was done by the Irish National Teachers Organisation, INTO. We have referenced the fact the INTO is the organisation that has been pushing this matter. It did a considerable amount of work and research and gathered some very personal testimony, if I may be honest. People shared some of their deep experiences as to why this is so important. If the House will allow me a moment, I will read some of the testimony. I will not read out every piece of testimony because it is quite lengthy. There is a considerable amount here.

The INTO conducted a survey and got a total of 2,271 responses, which is a decent number. Some 92% of the respondents were female and came from across all of Ireland, so the information is well spread geographically. Some 40% had never experienced a reproductive health issue. Of those, 20% had supported a spouse or partner who had experienced such an issue. We have heard a couple of references in the course of the debate to people supporting those who are experiencing reproductive needs. Some 60%, or 1,311 respondents, indicated they had experienced an issue. They came from all across Ireland. Approximately half of the respondents indicated they had experienced a pre-24-week miscarriage, while 28% experienced fertility screening and 26% availed of fertility treatment. A sizeable number of respondents were impacted by these issues.

Other issues that respondents self-declared in the survey included threatened miscarriage, diagnoses of polycystic ovaries and endometriosis. The pre-24-week and threatened miscarriage were the most commonly reported health-related matters, followed by fertility treatment or diagnosis. I know this is somewhat laborious but it is important for us to know some of the facts and evidence behind this matter when we talk about it.

Some 75% of those who experienced a reproductive health-related matter indicated they had to deliberately use school closures, either mid-term breaks or school holidays, to schedule appointments or treatments because they needed time off work to do so. The majority of those did so because they did not want to take time off on a school day. One fifth of those respondents cited privacy reasons. They did not want anyone to know. Others felt unable to share with the principal. Others had exhausted their sick leave entitlements. Some others also mentioned using extra personal vacation, EPV, days, moving to job sharing, taking career breaks, where possible, or scheduling early morning of after-school appointments and treatments to help manage their reproductive health leave requirements.

One respondent, quoted in the INTO survey, stated:

During IVF treatment I travelled to Dublin leaving at 5 am to have early appointment so that I would be back in work for 10 am. Thankfully I was lucky but the huge amount of unnecessary stress I put on myself, in hindsight, was ridiculous.

Another stated, "I felt I could not take school days and used up EPV days or tried to schedule appointments during holidays but this can be very problematic for IVF treatments."

Many respondents stated they were extremely conscious of inconveniencing their classes, principals or other teachers if they did not avail of a leave day that did not require substitution. They indicated they were worried about what parents would think if they were mysteriously absent without adequate cover being provided. We all know about children being divvied up between classes when unexplained things happen. Some of the respondents were concerned that would have an effect on them and their careers.

Some of the respondents indicated they would have preferred to keep the matter private but had to tell their principals to find a way to manage appointments. Given that the scheduling of many appointments or treatments for fertility are cycle dependent, as we all know, it was nearly impossible not to take a school day off for many of the respondents.

Many respondents also said that managing leave caused stress on top of their personal and emotional stress. For anyone who has gone through IVF, miscarriages or anything like that, additional stress on top of an already difficult situation is not helpful.

Another respondent stated:

I didn’t want to take school days but when you’re dealing with fertility it becomes cycle dependent. In the end I had to tell my principal because I couldn’t deal with the stress and stress just makes the situation worse.

These problems were compounded for those who did not have permanent contracts. I will not go off on a tangent about my thoughts on the impact of not having permanent contracts and people trying to live their lives. However, another respondent said, "I do not have a permanent job and would feel that telling my principal that I was going for fertility treatment would stand against me in any future job interviews." That is something we must consider.

Other respondents did not want to use sick leave. In that regard, one respondent said, "The reduced sick leave scheme puts pressure to returning to work when sometimes one is not emotionally ready e.g. following a late miscarriage."

I have talked a bit about those who felt they had to divulge the information to principals, and it is important, as has been mentioned, that this Bill does not require anyone to divulge. It will create an option if people want to avail of this particular type of leave. The survey report stated, "If there was a Reproductive Health Related Leave Scheme almost three quarters of respondents indicated that they would be either very comfortable or very comfortable submitting a medical certificate that indicated reproductive related matter for inclusion in the OCLS by their principal and a second person in the school." People have raised concerns about whether people would feel comfortable coming forward. This survey indicates that three quarters of respondents have said they would be comfortable doing that. It is a significant matter to bear in mind.

One person who responded to the survey said she had not told her principal but had complications while in the school. She went on to say, "I left school in an ambulance related to this issue, therefore [everyone] became aware of the condition."

Many of the comments of the respondents emphasised the added stress they were under, at both a personal and professional level, when trying to manage their leave for reproductive health. One respondent said, "It's a stressful thing to have to go through without having to stress about taking time off and how to keep the matter private." Another said:

I’m currently out on sick leave from surgery and now reproductive health issues and feel incredible pressure because of the reduced sickness entitlement. It’s adding more stress to my recovery in turn its taking longer.

The stress and secrecy are compounding the issue, making it more difficult for people to manage and adding additional recovery days.

Another respondent said:

Despite my principal being as incredibly supportive as possible, I put myself under unnecessary stress and worry while undergoing IVF. I scheduled all my scans for early morning and would try to get into work just a half hour late. Even though some of my scans were very uncomfortable and I felt unwell afterwards, I felt my principal had been so accommodating that I didn’t want to trouble her further. I wasn’t in a position to take unpaid days to cover appointment days.

Those are just some of the testimonies that people gave when the INTO did its survey. There was a mention as well of the stigma attached to reproductive health. People felt they could not tell someone. We in the Labour Party are very hopeful that in passing this Bill we will specifically deal with the stigma. Having the legislation in place will somehow alleviate some of the stigma and pressure where currently people are hiding and operating in secrecy and they do not want others to know what it is that they are doing. We hope that will help some people deal with the stigma.

We need to do better by workers. This is an issue of equality. It is a workers' rights issue. It is a health issue. More than anything, it is a deeply personal issue. We have a responsibility as legislators to do our utmost to rectify the wrongs of reproductive issues that have consistently been left in the shadows. I thank the INTO and Dublin Lord Mayor, Councillor Alison Gilliland, for pursuing this issue and for giving us that comprehensive piece of research. If anyone wants to look at the full report, it is available on the INTO website. I also thank Deputy Bacik for putting the Bill together. It is great that we have Government time and Government support on this. I hope that we can get this over the line. We have left reproductive healthcare too long in the shadows and it is time that we got it done.