Patricia Stephenson (Social Democrats)

I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House today. A few weeks ago, during a discussion on women's health in this Chamber, I spoke about women not being believed in the healthcare system. Following that, I received hundreds of messages from women speaking about their own experiences of medical gaslighting. Reading those experiences that women chose to openly share on social media was particularly difficult, as I know the scale of those impacted by medical gaslighting is in fact much higher.

I am requesting an update on the implementation of the women's healthcare action plan, particularly as it relates to the recognition of structural inequality and health outcomes for women, and the need to address what is increasingly recognised as medical gaslighting. I acknowledge that the Department has publicly committed to listening to women as per the action plan, but the failure to believe women's symptoms and pain continues to be endemic in our healthcare system.

Medical gaslighting often strips women of the control they should have over their healthcare choices. Too often, women are not consulted about essential medical decisions until it is far too late to intervene. This is particularly prevalent in maternity care, where many women do not realise they have the power to question medical advice and seek alternative treatment before it is too late.

Women's experiences are invalidated. It is leaving them to question their reality and to shoulder unjust blame for what has happened to them, rather than questioning the shortcomings in their care. I have heard stories from women about being forced to travel overseas for endometriosis care, women being told that their excruciating physical pain is simply anxiety and women crying through IUD insertions without any painkillers or pain relief. Women in Ireland continue to report being told their pain is normal, in their heads or anxiety related. These brush-offs are not just anecdotal; they are supported by international and national studies which show that women wait longer for diagnoses, particularly for conditions such as endometriosis, different autoimmune disorders, cardiovascular disease and even cancers. In addition, gaslighting disproportionately affects women from marginalised backgrounds and those who might have chronic or invisible illnesses.

The radical listening report, commissioned by the Department and delivered by the National Women's Council and Community Work Ireland, lays bare the daily experiences of women when it comes to equitable treatment within the healthcare system. This is particularly true for marginalised women such as Travellers, Roma, disabled women, migrant women and women who are surviving different forms of trauma. They repeatedly describe not being believed, not being heard and being subject to dismissive, harmful or even prejudiced medical treatment.

I reinforce the point that these are not isolated incidents. These are systematic continuous failures. Women report being given sedatives rather than mental health care, being told their pain is imagined or being dismissed because they have a pre-existing disability. This is medical gaslighting, where a person's symptoms are concerned, minimised, misattributed or denied outright. It is not historical; it is happening today. It is happening now and has happened to me. I am sure it has happened to many other women in this Chamber.

Despite the radical listening report's clear findings from 2021, and the health system performance assessment platform now being operational, there is still no systematic collection of disaggregated data on the health outcomes for marginalised women. I would like to know how we can fix something when we are not even measuring the issue.

The Women's Health Action Plan 2024-25 also includes a key pillar on listening to women, including steps to initiate a new "'radical listening' exercise", as it is described, during this year. Will the Minister of State please provide an update on what this means in practice? When will it be conducted? Who will be consulted? What different groups will be brought in on it? How will it lead to women being heard and believed within medical settings? Will the Minister of State also update the Chamber not only on the roll-out of the strategy, but also on what actions are being taken to eliminate medical gaslighting? How are services being adapted to reflect the experiences outlined in the radical listening report? What progress has been made on integrating intersectional, measurable targets into the implementation of the women's action plan? To finish, I am not sure about my time-----