Marie Sherlock (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I raised a matter on Second Stage and I will raise it again. It is a huge disappointment that in the context of this Bill, which seeks to recognise that women who go through a severe, serious health condition or illness while pregnant, or just after giving birth to their baby, that the Government seeks to distinguish between a physical health condition and a mental health condition, and that the criteria for recognising a mental health condition has to be inpatient hospitalisation. I said on Second Stage and I will say it again that the requirement is evidence of an antiquated view of mental health and its treatment. Somebody can go through cancer but never spend a day as an inpatient in a hospital, yet we expect that somebody with a mental health condition has to be hospitalised. In this day and age, such a scenario does not reflect how science and medicine have progressed. I said it at the time that I do not want this Bill to be delayed in any shape or form, and this is why we are supporting it here today, but the Bill needs to be revised in the future so that there is parity, at the very least, between those who suffer a serious mental health condition and a serious physical health condition because it is a disservice to women who suffer a serious mental health condition that they have to be hospitalised to qualify under this Bill.