Lorraine Clifford-Lee (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am proud to stand here with my colleagues today and commend them on the work they have done on this extremely important Bill. IVF is a treatment for infertility. As my colleague, Senator O'Loughlin, has said, the WHO views infertility as a disease. IVF is quite an effective treatment for that disease but, unfortunately, IVF treatments have not been fully publicly funded and I hope that this Bill will move things along. This matter is something on which the Minister has engaged with both Senators Ardagh and O'Loughlin over a number of years because infertility is a very important issue that is experienced by many thousands of couples across the country.

I refer to the points the Leas-Chathaoirleach made at the start of this debate. While he did so with the best of intentions, he mentioned that infertility was a problem that affects women and if it affected men then we would have seen a solution a lot sooner.It does affect men. Infertility is not a female-centred issue. It affects men as well. It is fair to say that the shame and stigma and medical burden often disproportionately fall on women, but pinning infertility as a women's issue or a woman's fault is completely incorrect. We need to break away from this narrative and speak about it in an open fashion. It has been kept under wraps. People have been speaking about it, not even with their friends or family but among themselves.

Women have carried a burden because it is seen as the most natural thing and that our primary function in life is to bear a child, and when women cannot do so, it is devastating for the whole family unit. Senator Ardagh very generously shared her personal experience. I know a lot of people really connected with it. Having been a colleague of hers for a long number of years and a friend, I know how it impacted her. I know how hard she worked to keep the show on the road while she was undergoing very difficult treatment. She is to be commended on the work she is doing along with Senator O'Loughlin and the Minister. Having gone through that journey and having two beautiful boys at home, she knows there is work to do to make sure the road is easier for those who come after her. I commend her on this.

The funding aspect of this is very important. It needs to be universally funded. This universal funding, as the Minister knows, will help to defeat the stigma and shame of it. It would be seen almost as a normal health procedure and treatment in the system and not something abnormal. This is why it is so important that it is publicly funded and that we see this rolled out without further delay. Every month that goes by impacts on people's journeys. I ask that we send a strong signal from the House today that this is a priority of the Government and that it is a part of our normal health system.

The Minister has made great progress in recent years. We can look at the achievements of every previous Minister for Health but I do not think any of them achieved what the Minister has in the area of reproductive healthcare. This is to be commended. It is something of which we as a group are very proud. This is an extra piece in the jigsaw. I know the Minister is prioritising it. We will see extra funding for it and families will see real delivery. There are still issues to be teased out in the legislation but I know people throughout the House will work very positively and productively with the Minister and Senators O'Loughlin and Ardagh to have some real workable legislation and proper funding and access. This is what this is about. It is about creating universal access to treatment. It has always been the Fianna Fáil way that people have access to healthcare when they need it and as they need it. People who access IVF are going through enough as it is. They do not need to have a financial burden to deal with also.

I congratulate Senators Ardagh and O'Loughlin. I know how hard they have both worked on this. It is a big day but there is still a road to go and we are here with them on that road.