Fiona O'Loughlin (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I support the Order of Business.

I very much welcome the Government's decision to ratify the optional protocol of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, UNCPRD. This is a very significant step in the right direction to support those living with disability in Ireland. Through the UNCRPD, the Government has committed to full and equal rights for those with disabilities in Ireland. Under the optional protocol, this means that individuals and groups can lodge a complaint to the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities if they believe that the State has breached obligations under the convention. As a member of the Joint Committee on Disability Matters, I have long advocated for this convention to be fully ratified and I am very pleased the Government and the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, are taking this vital and crucial step.

Yesterday, I invited Gareth Landy, a constituent of mine in south Kildare, to come and speak in the audiovisual room about his journey to being diagnosed with XXY syndrome. We speak quite a bit about female infertility but very little about male infertility. Sometimes, women go through quite invasive procedures to realise, perhaps some time afterwards, that there is not an issue with their fertility but there may be with their partner. Gareth's syndrome is a complex disorder and there are a number of flagging symptoms that we could recognise when we know what we are looking for. Gareth and Anna have finally got their beautiful set of twins through a sperm donor, even though they had a difficult time to get there. Gareth is raising awareness about XXY syndrome. It is thought one in 600 men suffer from this but very few are diagnosed. We need to spend more time looking at this.

Gareth had three men asks. The first is that the VAT charge on the sperm and donor egg be abolished, which is an important ask. His second ask is to cover XXY syndrome under the long-term illness scheme because those in his situation must have a testosterone injection every 15 weeks, which is quite expensive. The third ask is the establishment of an Irish equivalent to the UK's Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority. This is an independent fertility watchdog that helps protect couples from being exploited for profit, which is very important.

The final issue I will raise is inheritance or capital acquisitions tax. It is good and important that the income threshold has been raised in the budget. I feel very strongly about this. Some people have children who have passed away prematurely and they have grandchildren. The grandchildren cannot avail of the income disregard. Everybody who is single who does not have children should have the ability to nominate at least one person to avail of an inheritance without having to pay the 33% tax. I would like to have a debate on that issue in this House. I thank the Cathaoirleach.