Author: Mary

Technology supports for education are much needed, especially for so many families struggling to pay the bills. It’s standard practice in the EU to subvent or supply these technological needs – why not here? I put this to the Taoiseach.

WHY ON EARTH WOULD YOU TRUST STEPHEN DONNELLY? The Minister wants us to believe ‘it’ll be all right on the night’; the nuns will be ‘grand’ with women having the care they need in ‘their’ hospital – like abortions. Yeah right! The Minister knows well that the nuns’ commitment to their ethos is embedded in every deal they do, and the set-up they have at St Vincents, means they still own the land for the new hospital which gives them a powerful edge in imposing their ethos. No deal on this basis. THE NATIONAL MATERNITY HOSPITAL MUST BE STATE RUN AND SECULAR. NOTHING LESS.

Outside the Dáil today (25.5.21), I was proud to stand with the Campaign Against Church Ownership of Women’s Healthcare. We reiterated the demand that the new National Maternity Hospital must be free of church control. I also called for the review of Abortion legislation, now due, to make sure that abortion services are available to women right across the country. We’ve waited long enough! In case people aren’t aware, The Sisters of Charity is one of 18 residential institutions that is highlighted by the Ryan report 2009 to have been responsible for child abuse. They still owe €3 million to the redress scheme for its survivors. The Sisters of Charity, along with three other religious congregations, were responsible for the management of Magdalene Laundries. In 2013 they stated they would not be making ANY contributions to the State redress scheme to the women who had been subject abuse in the Magdalene Laundries. Originally, the Department of Health wanted to give them ‘sole’ ownership of the new €300 million State-funded National Maternity Hospital. Now the Department are being very vague as to how ownership and control of the NMH will be handled. The Campaign Against Church Ownership of Women’s Healthcare is determined that the NMH will be secular and publicly owned and run. People Before Profit fully supports this demand.

FREE CONTRACEPTION. SEX EDUCATION that’s not ethos-based. Remember the Citzens’ Assembly for Repeal of the 8th Amendment? They did excellent work making sensible recommendations to the government, that would then be followed up on, on not. That’s where Free Contraception and non-ethos-based Sex Education come from. So what’s happened to them? – I asked in the Dáil. Still waiting for a satisfactory answer! So are women, and so are children