Lisa Chambers (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank all Members who contributed to the Order of Business. Almost all of them acknowledged that it is International Women's Day and wished everyone well. A number of important topics were raised in the same vein.

Senator Maria Byrne spoke about a new clinical trial in the UK on endometriosis, which she will know is a topic close to my heart, and the focus on trying to find a drug to deal with the pain. My knowledge of the condition, from having a close family member who is dealing with it, is that the use of pain medication is really to come in after the fact. This week, the Minister for Health, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, launched a new framework for dealing with endometriosis in a new care pathway. Some concerns around it very much focus on primary care and hormone and pain suppression, which does not really deal with the issue. It is a chronic condition that is only dealt with, certainly at the medium to severe end, by excision surgery, which we currently do not offer in Ireland. That is the crux of the matter. We need to get to the point where women are no longer travelling to Romania, Poland and the UK to get the specialist surgery they cannot get here because we do not have surgeons with the level of expertise to do multi-organ surgery using highly specialist techniques. It is a complex issue. I caution against going down the road of pain medication and hormone suppression because it leads to other problems down the line and does not address the underlying issues. Much work has been done on the issue of endometriosis in recent years, however. We have a specialist wing in Tallaght hospital now, which is a step in the right direction. We are certainly bringing more of a focus to the issue.

I am also happy to alert the House that Senator Ruane and I will be hosting a screening of a very informative video called "Below the Belt", produced by Hillary Clinton and others. It focuses on what it means to live with endometriosis. The screening, which will last just under one hour, will be held in the audiovisual room at 1.30 p.m. on 22 March. An email will be sent to everybody later today. I encourage anyone who has an interest in learning a little more about this condition to attend because it affects 10% of women. Many women do not find out they have endometriosis until they try to have children and find they cannot. It is a very debilitating condition and one we are only starting to get to grips with in this country. We hope to see many Senators at the screening and I think they will get a lot from it.

Senator Maria Byrne also spoke about the pilot scheme for minor injury clinics at pharmacies where pharmacists will prescribe medication as opposed to people having to go to their GP. She wanted to lend her support to that.

Senator O'Loughlin acknowledged that the Government has committed to holding a referendum on gender equality, about which Senators Clonan and Higgins also spoke. It is long overdue to commend the work of Dr. Catherine Day, who chaired the Citizens' Assembly on Gender Equality, and all the citizens who participated and gave us 45 key recommendations. Members of this House, including me, Senator Doherty and Senator Higgins, sit on the Joint Committee on Gender Equality. We were involved in the work of the committee, under the leadership of Deputy Bacik, that led to the referendum that is coming down the tracks, which is great. I also acknowledge the work of the Leas-Chathaoirleach on the unveiling of the busts of former Presidents Mary McAleese and Mary Robinson, which will take place in the main hall at 2 p.m. Again, it would be great if as many Members as possible could be there to acknowledge that work.

Senator Clonan congratulated Deputy Cairns on her elevation. This is my first opportunity to do likewise. I congratulate the Deputy on becoming leader of the Social Democrats. It is a significant day for her personally and also great to see another woman taking over in a leadership role. I wish her the very best in what is a very challenging environment for any politician these days given the online space we deal with. I have no doubt Deputy Cairns will do a great job in her role as leader of her party and make a significant contribution to public life.

A constitutional referendum on housing has been debated and the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, acknowledged the need for one. It will not be in the mix this year but it is something we will have to revisit soon, I hope, to have it progressed.

Senator Gavan spoke about the lifting of the eviction ban, or the non-extension of the relevant legislation, at the end of the month. There will be statements on that issue on 29 March, which is the earliest we could arrange the debate. That will give Senators an opportunity to air their views on the issue and hear from the Government its justification for not extending the ban. It is a significant issue for many families and I acknowledge the stress many of them will be feeling. The matter has been well articulated at this point and the Minister was out much of yesterday. The reason for not extending it was a concern to ensure that more landlords do not exit the market. Whether the Senator agrees with that or not, there will be an opportunity on 29 March to debate it in the House and hear from all sides.

Senator Higgins acknowledged that this is not a happy International Women's Day for all women. Those in marginalised communities and those facing homelessness will not take great solace today. The Senator welcomed the gender equality referendum and focused on the recognition of care. She also noted that the committee recommended that we extend the protection of the Constitution to all families and all family types, a point that has maybe been missing sometimes in the public debate in recent weeks and months. That was am important recommendation from the Citizens' Assembly and the committee.

Senator Dooley spoke about International Women's Day from a different angle but one that probably pricked the consciousness of everybody here, namely, the issue of pensions for women who were forced to leave work because of the marriage ban. That issue has not been resolved. There were certainly moves to address some of the concerns and some progress was made but they did not deal with all aspects of the issue. The Senator is right; those women made a significant contribution with work in the home. They were not given the choice to work unless they did not want to get married, which is not really a choice at all if that is something someone wants to do. It is an important issue to raise on the floor of the House.

Senator Lombard spoke about a particular issue with regard to funerals and the inability of people to bring the body to the church the night before funerals. I acknowledge the Senator's remarks in that regard. I appreciate that it can be a stressful time for many families and that people are under time pressure in those circumstances.

Senator Boyhan made the suggestion that interparliamentary groups should have an opportunity to come before this House and perhaps the Dáil as well. We will focus on the Seanad this morning. I suggest the Senator put the issue on the agenda of the meeting of the Committee on Parliamentary Privileges and Oversight. It would be a matter for that committee rather than me, although it is interesting suggestion. The Senator acknowledged the meeting of the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly on Sunday and Monday just gone in Stormont where there was good engagement between both Parliaments.

Senator Black asked for a debate on women in the workplace. Statements on International Women's Day later will be an opportunity to raise that issue. The Senator is right that in some respects, in some sectors of employment in Ireland, the pay can be considered quite low. Women are often in part-time and seasonal employment or care roles, which often are not as highly remunerated as other jobs. It is welcome that we at least have the Gender Pay Gap Information Act 2021 in place. Larger companies are now reporting on their gender pay gap. In time, that will result in a reduction in the gap, which stands at approximately 11%, if I am correct. It is something we must work on but it is also about re-evaluating as a country how much value we place on certain jobs. Very often, the caring professions are the lowest paid and they are the professions that are mostly occupied by women.

Senator Davitt spoke about being in a house full of women and how on International Women's Day, he left the house this morning in the full knowledge of what day it was and how important it was. I am in a house full of men; even the dog is a boy. It is the complete opposite but, equally, I am really lucky to have the family I have. The Senator also highlighted the issue of school building projects that have been delayed.

I join with other colleagues in supporting Senator Doherty. We can all call it for what it is. If the board of management of St. John Ambulance is publishing a report the day before St. Patrick's Day, it is with the intention of burying it. It is not done for any other reason. It looked for a day when it thought the news cycle would be particularly busy and the story would be unlikely to make the front pages or would feature on pages 2, 3, 4 and 5 or the middle of the newspapers, if at all. It is a cynical move but the board has been called out on it today. The week we come back, we can discuss the report at length to make sure the victims are heard and it gets more publicity than it would have had the board gone about this the right away, rather than trying to hide the report in a busy week. We did not come down in the last shower. We can see what has been done. I do not know how St. John Ambulance thought this would go unnoticed. I commend Senators Doherty and Seery Kearney and others on their work and thank them for continuing to raise this issue. We will make sure that, in this House at least, the story of the people affected is heard and the issue is put on the record. It is a very cynical move.

I acknowledge that Dr. Geoffrey Shannon has been elevated as a judge to the Circuit Court and commend him on his very important work.

Senator Sherlock raised the issue of the eviction ban. As I said, we will have a debate in the House on 29 March. Senator Mark Daly spoke about St. John Ambulance as he wanted to support Senator Doherty in her work on that issue. Senator Cummins spoke about the Higher Education Authority and the call for opportunities, in particular around nursing, dentistry and other areas where there is a deficit in the number of students coming forward. He also called for an expansion of the nursing school in the South East Technological University, SETU.The technological universities present a significant opportunity for the regions and to rebalance educational offerings across the country. In my area, we have Atlantic Technological University. The elevation of these institutions to university status is significant. Towns have become university towns, which puts them on a different level. The institutions can now move forward to offering more courses because there will be a greater demand to attend those universities. The Senator is absolutely right that the nursing school would be an ideal opportunity to expand the offering at SETU for students in the county and wider region.

Senator Carrigy spoke about estimated energy bills. It is important to point out that if one does not provide a meter reading, one could receive a bill that is wildly off the mark. That could be of benefit down the line but the opposite could also be the case. The Senator also raised an issue relating to the EPA and peat. The House will be dealing with the Environmental Protection Agency (Emergency Electricity Generation) (Amendment) Bill 2023 tomorrow and there might be an opportunity to raise the issue during that debate, for which the Minister will be present.

Senators Ahearn and Conway requested a debate with the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Coveney, on the issue of employment opportunities for people with disabilities. We will request that debate with the Minister at the earliest opportunity. It is an important topic, particularly for Senator Conway, who regularly raises those issues in the Chamber and keeps them to the fore in our debates. We are lagging behind other countries in terms of giving opportunities across all sectors to people with disabilities to work. It is clear there are bigger opportunities in the public sector, where the State has more control over opportunities. We can do better in that regard. It would be great to get a debate with the Minister on that issue.

Senator Seery Kearney spoke in support of Senator Doherty and made clear her views on the publication of the report next week. I have no doubt we will revisit the issue in the week we resume. I will speak to Senator Doherty on the best way to deal with that in the Chamber and give it the platform and airing it deserves. We will have had the benefit of having seen the report at that stage. I acknowledge the point raised by Senator Seery Kearney in respect of the subjects of the report being asked to attend alone, without support. It is quite shocking that they were asked to attend alone and are not allowed to bring somebody with them. I hope those organising that event or happening will reconsider that request of those coming in on the day. They should be allowed to bring somebody with them. It should not be a closed shop.