Eileen Flynn (Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Minister is very welcome to the House to discuss women’s health. I have heard many Senators speak about period products being available in toilets it, and it really annoys me. I have never in my whole life heard a poor woman give out about not having period products. It does not fix the health inequalities within Irish society. I welcome it of course, as do poor women, but this is not my first time to say in the House that we should stop being the do-gooders and saints of poor women within Irish society. Give us the opportunities to do it for ourselves. As Senator Ruane said when we were voting for the Leas-Chathaoirleach, put us women who have had fewer opportunities up front because we are well able to do the jobs.

Women in prison need healthcare. Women from the Traveller community need an awful lot of support when it comes to reproductive healthcare and postnatal healthcare so Traveller women can trust in the system. I know from being a member of the Traveller community when I was pregnant with both Billie and Lacey, I was just seen as the Traveller. I did not have any idea about what was going on with my own body and my child at the time. I have spoken about it in this House before, and know from many Traveller women. After I had Billie I had severe postnatal depression to the point where I once wanted to take my own life. I did not want to go to the health system because I did not trust it. I thought my child would be taken from me. Unfortunately, this is the case for many Traveller women today.

The number of women and children who are homeless in this country is absolutely appalling. It is important to have statements on women’s health but last week I called it an inaction. Why could we have not have gone out and visited women living in hotels, who are in refuges, who are really in the pits of Irish society and do not feel supported? These statements mean absolutely nothing and it is unfortunate to be a woman who is really struggling to feed a family of six or a big family. In the Ireland of 2025, we speak about women around the world who have less equality of opportunity, but it is also unfortunately the case for many women in working-class communities and women from the Traveller community.

I know we talk about the three Cs – childcare, confidence and cost – we need to add the fourth C as soon as possible, which is class. Working-class women do not have the same equality of opportunity as women from a richer class. I heard another Senator speak about going to a GP paying €50 to €70, depending on where the GP is based, for access to a medical service only to be told, “It is all in your head.” Women are very undermined in the healthcare system in Ireland and that should not be the case.

I know the Minister is well-placed in her role.I look forward to working with her in the future. I would love to be able to lower the CervicalCheck age limit, especially for Traveller women who get married younger than women from the general population, sometimes at age 15 or 16. The age for CervicalCheck should be lowered to 20. There should be more supports.

As I have said numerous times in this House, poor women and women from ethnic minority groups are not looking for handouts. What we are looking for are hand ups. We need wraparound support. Mental health is a major crisis in our community. I look forward to working alongside the Minister to tackle mental health issues. Traveller women carry the load in our community, which puts a lot of pressure on them. It would be brilliant to work with the Minister to support Traveller women in every way we can and ensure they can access health and have good quality healthcare in this country.