Yesterday we saw an amazing show of cross-party support in this House on the matter of violence against women, an issue which sadly unites us all. In that vein, I want to extend that cross-party support again today because I was glad to see the Labour Party raising the matter of miscarriage leave. Miscarriage leave is something I have spoken about a number of times in this House and Deputy Carroll MacNeill and I have been championing it from the Government backbenches.

More than one in five pregnancies in Ireland ends in miscarriage. It is a common occurrence, but it is an awfully traumatic experience. It is high time we acknowledge that trauma through appropriate support for the dignity that women deserve. Can the Tánaiste give an update on the Government's review to support women who suffer miscarriage by legislating for miscarriage leave?

I very much support the introduction of leave in the event of miscarriage. The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth is going to commission some research in this area to see what is best practice and what is done around the world. Both the Philippines and New Zealand have a law on it. I would like Ireland to be among of the first countries to do so. However, it is a complicated area, perhaps more so than it may appear. There are many different types of miscarriage and the impact can be very different, depending on the circumstances. We are introducing legislation at present to provide for sick leave for people, but we need to think about proportionality as well. For example, if one provides leave for one condition, would it be legitimate to provide less or more leave for another condition such as cancer or a mastectomy? We have to ensure that we study this in the round and ensure that anything we do would not be struck down in legal terms. That is why it will require some research and work.