Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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Question 18: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children the steps she plans to take following a recent report on concealed pregnancy which found that there are women who continue to conceal and deny pregnancy; and if she intends to follow the suggestion in the report. [21320/06]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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The report Concealed Pregnancy: A case-study approach from an Irish setting was jointly commissioned by the Crisis Pregnancy Agency (CPA) and the Health Service Executive (West). It was launched on 23rd May 2006 and it is the first report of its kind that looks in depth at women's experiences of concealed pregnancy in Ireland. I welcome this report and I wish to acknowledge that this research represents an important contribution to our understanding of the phenomenon of concealed pregnancy.

The report makes recommendations to guide and inform the planning and development of a national framework of services responding to concealed pregnancy in medical, social, counselling and support service settings throughout the health services on a national basis. The CPA will be examining how the findings in this report may best inform its work programme, particularly in the areas of: Education and working with young people; the Positive Options campaign and the provision of crisis pregnancy counselling; its 'Key Contacts' information project; and other information resources being developed by the Agency for parents, GPs, etc.

In particular, the report recommends that the CPA host a forum for continued sharing of information on concealed pregnancy. The CPA has informed me that it will be convening such a forum to involve all of the parties that come into contact with women who may conceal a pregnancy, including medical social workers, GPs, crisis pregnancy counsellors, ante-natal educators, midwives, etc. The Agency views the establishment of such a forum as a first step towards developing a framework for managing concealed pregnancies and to further co-ordinate services.

In addition, the CPA has informed me that its Chairperson intends to write to the National Union of Journalists, the media (written and broadcast), the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland, and the Garda Commissioner about this report; and to invite these interests to workshops in order to discuss the conclusions of the report and to examine whether guidelines would help those who handle communication of information on this sensitive issue. Furthermore, crisis pregnancy counselling services are an important means of connecting with women who might conceal their pregnancies. The Agency has indicated to me that it looks forward to further developing its co-operation with the Health Service Executive, especially in the delivery of additional counselling services nationally.