Margaret Murphy O'Mahony (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister to the House and thank her for giving her time and for extending it a few times. It is great to see a female Minister for Health. I wish her luck going forward.

International Women's Day is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. Today, to mark International Women's Day we are discussing women's health in the Seanad. Being a woman brings many joys but in life it is not physically easy being a woman. We have to deal with periods, pregnancy, childbirth, menopause, endometriosis and so on, all of which bring literally levels of physical pain. As a young girl and woman I myself suffered severely with endometriosis. I was often unable to go to school and later to work, so I am delighted to see that there is now so much being done for it and that it is being spoken about. It is no longer taboo and is being recognised for the very harsh condition that it is. I am proud to be an Oireachtas Member here today where the words "period", "menopause", "endometriosis" and so on are freely and openly used. We have come a very long way.

I am also proud to be a member of Fianna Fáil, which has been very instrumental in transforming women's health. Following our return to Government in 2020, Fianna Fáil transformed women's healthcare, underpinned by the country's first ever women's health action plan. We built a new national network of same day see-and-treat-gynaecology services, fertility hubs, specialist menopause clinics and endometriosis clinics, a cause very close to my heart. I could talk for a long time about what Fianna Fáil has done for women's healthcare but I am conscious of the time. Again I wish the Minister well and thank her for coming in on International Women's Day.