I move:

“That Seanad Éireann:

recognises that:

- the period after childbirth is a time of significant physical, emotional, and mental adjustment and that post-natal care is critical for the health and well-being of mothers, babies, and their families;

- in particular mothers need access to affordable and timely mental health resources, such as counselling, therapy, and peer support, to address potential issues like post-natal depression, burnout and anxiety;

- the Maternity and Infant Care Scheme currently provides for two post-natal visits to a GP, comprising an examination of the baby at two weeks old and an examination of the mother and baby at six weeks old, while a public health nurses will visit the mother and baby at home, usually within 72 hours of returning home from hospital, and visits thereafter are confined to structured checks on the baby’s development;

commends:

- the ‘Year of Care’ campaign and other initiatives that have highlighted the structural deficiencies in State provision of supports, including in particular mental health supports, for new mothers in their homes;

endorses:

- the call for comprehensive, year-long, post-natal support for mothers, to ensure that mothers receive the support they need to recover fully and to thrive, benefitting not just the mother, but also the child, the family and society as a whole;

calls on:

- the Minister for Health to commit to the necessary expansion of services, to include increased funding, improved access to mental health services, post-natal check-ups for up to one year and the establishment of community-based support networks throughout the State, so as to ensure every mother has the resources she needs to thrive.”

I second the motion.

I call on Senator Cosgrove to speak, but before I do so, the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, has indicated that after the contributions of the proposer and seconder, she wishes to speak on that point.

I am delighted the Minister of State is here and I thank her for coming in.

It is the Senator's intention to speak for 11 minutes, after which Senator Harmon will speak for five minutes Is that agreed? Agreed.

This is a debate on a very important issue that impacts not only every single new mother and baby but also their other children, their partner and their extended family. I thank my cross-party colleagues Senators Harmon, Noonan and Stephenson for allowing our time to be used to discuss this extremely important matter.

Postnatal care is often referred to as the fourth trimester, yet while each other trimester lasts 13 to 14 weeks, postnatal care ends just six weeks after childbirth. As a new mother myself 17 years ago, I was aware of some of the shortcomings and gaps that exist in the provision of care for new mothers. However, it was not until I was contacted last year by a Sligo woman and absolute powerhouse, Aolish Gormley, that I saw the structural inadequacies that meant the gaps in care are not accidental but often systemic. Aolish survived a serious instance of delayed postnatal depression and then founded the movement Ardú, which is the Irish word for "rise". She is also the founder of the Year of Care campaign. Ardú is an informal network of mothers and a space where women can support, inspire and empower each other. It is a community of connection. The name is inspired by the Irish saying "Ar dóigh muid le chéile", together we will rise.

The women in Ardú work for and with each other. The genius behind it is that we are all a resource for each other and it is so wonderful to see so many women in here. Gerry is in a minority here, I think. We all know every woman has something of value to share. There is so much stigma associated with talking about mental health, especially for women experiencing postnatal depression. The activities women take part in with Ardú include sunrise hikes, running, breathing workshops and sauna sessions and, of course, being based in Sligo, sea swimming, which I have been a part of myself.

It was through these conversations with other mothers that Aolish developed the Year of Care campaign, through which she drew my attention to the institutional nationwide lack of provision, which becomes very obvious once it is understood. The lack of postnatal care beyond six weeks is a failure by us as a State to recognise not only the many needs of a new mother stretching beyond six weeks, but also that some needs may not even be recognised by the mother herself or those around her before care has been withdrawn. This leaves many mothers without adequate mental, physical and emotional support during this very critical time. This grassroots initiative, which I have been following closely since it was officially launched by Aolish in Strandhill in Sligo one Saturday last May, aims to bridge these gaps. The campaign chimes perfectly with the long-established Labour mission of achieving gender equality. Our society and political system still relegate women's issues, needs, aspirations and lives to second place. Without gender equality, our democracy remains unfinished.

This motion brings the needs of women at a particular point in their lives into the focus they deserve. In this motion, we are looking for increased Government funding, improved access to mental health services, extended postnatal checkups, the extension of maternity leave to one year and the establishment of community-based support networks throughout Ireland to ensure every mother has the resources she needs to thrive. All too often the specific needs of lone parents and those most in need of support are neglected. All mothers deserve to feel they are fully supported on their journey through motherhood. Those who need additional help in accessing public services, childcare and income supports must be given it.

The aim of this motion is simple. It is to create a system where no mother feels alone and every family have the support they need for a strong start. Through following the values and measures proposed in the Year of Care campaign, Ireland could become a leader in maternal care. The personal stories told in the Year of Care booklet, which I have here, will be familiar to anyone who has experienced postnatal depression or who knows close friend or family member who has. The feelings of guilt and confusion with unbounded joy at the arrival of a much-loved and wanted baby is supplanted by the grip of depression, with love beyond measure overshadowed and overpowered by fear that the baby could be unwell or could even have died during their sleep, fear that you are not good enough or fear that you are falling apart. It can be the feelings of inadequacy and loneliness when a husband, partner, family friend or relative returns to work, which can feel even worse for older mothers, who often feel they should have it at this stage all under control.

These feelings often come not within the first six weeks but much later. Yet, from the moment a mother gives birth, she is on a countdown. Life does not become easier after six weeks; it often becomes harder. Just imagine - or for those of us who have been through childbirth, remember - the immense strain that pregnancy and birth, whether vaginal or Caesarean, puts upon the female body, such as the physical energy required by our system to start and maintain breastfeeding, the sheer emotional and hormonal changes a woman experiences in her body, the mental and physical strain of getting to know a brand new human who depends on you utterly for their life and well-being, and then mix into all that six weeks of sleep deprivation.

Life does not become easier after six weeks and can become harder. Precisely at this time, however, after a six-week checkup, care for the mother, in the current system, is withdrawn. Tales of women going for their six-week checkup, during which the GP's attention is solely on the baby, are common. Aolish tells the story of a new mother attending her GP for a six-week checkup and being told there was not really a need for it but that they might as well do it anyway - just to basically get on with it. Is it any wonder women often feel invisible and unheard?

The Year of Care outlines ten elements of good maternal care that take an holistic approach to ensuring a mother's well-being. The first is year-long postnatal support. Postnatal care should be extended to a full year. Mothers should have continuous access to checkups, mental health support and physical recovery services throughout the first 12 years. We need to significantly increase resources to provide adequate postnatal support to women.

We must prioritise mental health by providing accessible, affordable services for mothers, including therapy, counselling and peer support groups to address conditions like postnatal depression and anxiety. Currently, if a woman requires an inpatient stay due to a mental health incident, she cannot bring her baby with her. No other single move could be more calculated to increase and deepen postnatal depression. The Government must honour its commitment and take immediate action to establish Ireland's first mother and baby unit.

The third element is comprehensive physical recovery. Postnatal depression and mental health challenges are not the only challenges faced by women after giving birth. The physical body has been put under tremendous strain and undergone phenomenal changes. Mothers deserve the physical care they need for managing pelvic floor issues and exercises to healing Caesarian scars, to breastfeeding support and guidance for ongoing recovery.

The fourth element is workplace and employer support. As the party of work, Labour has always supported workplace policies that accommodate the needs of new mothers. I know that the Government has made great strides in this direction and I really urge and hope that all Senators here will support year-long parental leave, a right to flexible working practices and breastfeeding friendly environments.

The fifth element is community-based support networks. Local hubs and support groups provide effective, hands-on assistance and emotional support. They build a sense of community for new mothers. Groups such as Ardú, which Aolish Gormley founded, could be supported at very little cost through the deployment of community workers to help women themselves and facilitate holistic, informal and beneficial networks.

The sixth element is equity and accessibility. All mothers, regardless of their socioeconomic background, ethnicity or geographic location deserve equal access to postnatal care, services and support. We know that single mothers and women from disadvantaged communities and hard-to-reach groups need more support.

The seventh element is education and awareness. Awareness of the importance of comprehensive postnatal care must be raised, empowering families to understand what is to be expected during the first year and how to seek the support that they need.

The eighth is policy and advocacy. Long-term, not year-to-year, investment in postnatal services will result in improved healthcare infrastructure.

The ninth element is family and partner involvement. Partners and other family members are primary care support services for most women

The tenth is training for healthcare professionals, whom we all know play an invaluable role in the lives of new mothers. Our wonderful healthcare professionals have a unique opportunity to make an immense difference to the quality of care on offer. It is essential that the training that they receive is relevant, targeted and ongoing to ensure practice remains.

I want to finish by acknowledging some of the work that has been done. Postnatal hubs, such as the establishment in Sligo University Hospital, provide enhanced community midwifery care delivered to women and babies in clinics they can access. Health checks for mother and baby, breastfeeding support and supplying support for additional services also take place in-person and telephone support is always available. However, the extension of enhanced postnatal midwifery hubs throughout the country and be funded to provide a full year of care would be a fantastic start to all the needs of new mothers. Mar fhocal scoir, I really urge all Senators to support this motion.

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, to the House. I commend my colleague, Senator Nessa Cosgrove, on leading on this motion and for all the work she has put into it. I am proud to be part of the cross-party group of Labour, the Social Democrats and the Green Party here in the Seanad. This is sending a powerful message today from Seanad Éireann that we need comprehensive care for mothers for the year following childbirth, not just the first six weeks and the initial period. It is really welcome that the Government is not opposing this motion and will supporting. That is testament that we can work together on both sides of this House. We really think this is a positive step forward. This is the first motion from our cross-party group and we have brought several Bills. We are really pleased to see this motion is being supported by all of the women and men in the Seanad.

I commend Aolish Gormley, founder of the campaign A Year of Care. I have been following that campaign online and I encourage anyone to follow that. She has been pioneering on this. She is a mental health advocate and she founded the local initiative, Ardú which is a maternal mental health project in Sligo. Her Year of Care campaign is a national advocacy effort calling for improved postnatal care for mothers during that first critical year after birth.

Postnatal care in Ireland has long been neglected by the State. The first year after giving birth is a critical time in a mother's life. We feel the current provision of care does not reflect this and we absolutely need to change that for women and for children. I want to commend the Minister of State on her work in relation to this area and the renewed emphasis that has been put on this. We need to see that continued. Additional support and check-ups are proposed as part of this motion, both physical and mental. This is a no-brainer in the pursuit of supporting mothers across this State.

We know from research from the Royal College of Surgeons in 2024 that 77% of women in Ireland experience feelings of loneliness during pregnancy and early motherhood. We urgently need to see resourcing of community based supports for this. Our motion calls for this in all areas across the country. Loneliness is one of the biggest issues facing new mothers and support centres like this would provide families the opportunity to build these communities.

My colleague, Senator Cosgrove, in bringing this motion forward is honouring the tireless work done by Aolish Gormley in Sligo and her vision is clearly reflected in our calls in this motion. It calls for the expansion of services beyond the existing maternity and infant care scheme. The law surrounding the maternity and infant care scheme have remained stagnant since the 1990s. We are calling for the funding of mental health services in a way that is accessible to new mothers and the provision of resources such as community support networks throughout the State.

Aolish's campaign proposes innovations like publicly-funded pelvic floor therapy and support for Caesarian sections as standard through the HSE. We must recognise that helping each individual mother to thrive will not just benefit her but will benefit the people close to her and her baby and older children. It will support communities and society more widely. We hear too often stories from women when they go to seek healthcare that they feel they are not being listened to in relation to women's health. They feel they are often gaslighted, not taken seriously or that they have to say multiple times what is wrong with them before they are taken seriously. This needs to change. We need to speak more as a society about women's health issues.

Best practice abroad shows us the way parents can be uplifted to perform their role to the best of their abilities. We must learn from the likes of the Netherlands and Denmark on the ways maternal health is championed and leave is funded effectively to support the mother, the child and the mother's role as a worker in our society as well. In many cases issues arising after birth can prevent women's re-entry into the workforce if they wish to re-enter the workforce. That places them at a disadvantage to their male counterparts. This is a women's rights motion. This is a women's healthcare motion and is certainly about equality. The Minister and the Government must intentionally resource the proper sectors to bolster women going through this transition into motherhood. We need to support mothers in every way we can, be they first-time mothers or no matter how many children they have. No pregnancy is the same and it can be different for women every time they give birth and their experiences in relation to that.

I think this sends a really powerful message here today. We are really pleased there is support across the House for this motion. It sends a clear message from Seanad Éireann to Ireland as a whole that this is being taken seriously and that women's maternal health is being taken seriously in our society. We need to do everything we can to continue to support and advocate for this.

Sula n-iarraim ar an Aire Stáit freagra a thabhairt, cuirim fáilte roimh Cara Donnelly. Cara is very welcome to Seanad Éireann. Cara is a niece of the Minister of State, Deputy Niamh Smyth.

Anois, glaoim ar an Aire Stáit, an Teachta Butler.

I also welcome Cara whom I just met outside the door earlier. I would also like to welcome my colleague Deputy Tony McCormack. He has some students in with him today. They are all very welcome to Seanad Éireann to see democracy in action.

I thank the Senators, especially Senator Cosgrove, for raising this important motion by the Cross-Party Group coming together to promote best practice for maternal mental health and women's health.

I am proud as a woman to be able to stand up here and support this motion. When the motion came in on Friday evening, the Minister, Deputy Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, and I had a look at it and were both happy to support it. Any opportunity to speak on mental health is a good one. I have been speaking about mental health since about 8.10 a.m. It has been one of those days because we had a committee meeting on the Estimates for 2026 for three hours as well this morning. It is great to get such a focus on mental health.

This is an issue of such importance in society. Becoming a parent is a huge change and adjustment. While it is of course a source of great joy, mental health challenges can be a big part of having a baby. We are much better at recognising this now and, in fact, mental health issues during and after pregnancy are common. One in five women will experience a mental health problem either during pregnancy or in the first year after giving birth. This could be a previous problem that has come back or the first time experiencing an issue. It can range from feeling low or anxious through to postnatal depression or post partum psychosis requiring specialist support. For many first-time mothers, it can be just anxiety and nervousness at not knowing what is ahead of them and worry about the whole process.

I acknowledge the work of Aolish Gormley and the Year of Care campaign, which she founded. She has drawn attention to a really important issue. I share her vision for maternal care in Ireland and services and supports for the physical, emotional and mental health needs of new mothers. We must all work to make this a reality.

I want to set out the actions by the Government to invest in and deliver improved maternal mental health supports and services. This is an area of Government policy where significant focus and substantial investment is under way. As Minister of State with responsibility for mental health, I have been working for several years now to expand our maternal mental supports. Government resourcing of mental health and suicide prevention has increased by over 50% in my time in this office. Progressing women's health continues to be a priority for this Government. We have overseen unprecedented levels of investment in women's health. I must give credit to the former Minister, Stephen Donnelly, the former minister of State, Senator Rabbitte, the Minister of State, Deputy Feighan, and myself. We all came into the Department in 2020 and there was a push at that time to improve supports for women's health. We started that off. I always thought they did not stand a chance when Senator Rabbitte and I got together. Thankfully, we now see that being supported by all sides of the Houses, in both the Dáil and the Seanad, but especially by the Minister as well. It has been embedded, which is really important.

The national maternity strategy is now in its final year and we are developing a successor strategy, which will be informed by the extensive review and evaluation of the implementation of the current strategy. The new strategy will be supported by insights from the 2025 national maternity experience survey published in December, in which 3,300 women participated. This is the lived experience about which I spoke every day when debating the Committee Stage of the Bill. Having 3,300 participate with their lived experience is powerful because it will reflect the reality on the ground. Through the national maternity strategy we have delivered significant improvements across our maternity services, including perinatal mental health supports and supports during the postnatal period.

A really important development in maternal mental health support has been the new national network of postnatal hubs. I acknowledge that Senator Cosgrove mentioned these. They provide essential care for women in the community in the weeks after birth. Postnatal hub services include core midwifery care, physiotherapy, lactation and infant feeding support, parent education, bereavement support and birth reflection services. Women can engage with hubs for as long as they need to. The hubs are delivering meaningful improvements in postnatal care. Women using them report much higher satisfaction with the attention paid to their physical and mental health in the postnatal period. The one-to-one midwife support is particularly valued.

Services have now been established in Dublin across the maternity hospitals and at Our Lady of Lourdes, Drogheda, at the start of this year following the successful pilot of the hubs in Cork, Kerry, Kilkenny, Portiuncula and Sligo. Each hub represents an additional six to ten whole-time equivalent staff and four further hubs will commence later this year as part of phase 3 of the postnatal hubs project.

Another priority action of the national maternity strategy is the review of the maternity and infant care scheme, including an examination of the current schedule of visits. The scheme is an essential programme of care to all expectant mothers, provided by their GP and a hospital obstetrician. The GP provides an initial examination, if possible before 12 weeks, and a further five examinations during the pregnancy, which are alternated with visits to the maternity hospital. In the case of a significant illness, such as diabetes or hypertension, women may have up to five additional visits to the GP. After the birth, the GP will examine the baby at two weeks and both mother and baby at six weeks. Checks under the scheme include monitoring of mental health, with GPs well positioned to assess for problems and provide support or onward referral to other services. Last year, the HSE’s national women and infants health programme convened a review group on the maternity and infant care scheme, engaging with key stakeholders and conducting a literature review to progress the review. The report and recommendations are due to be published in early 2026.

Actions on maternal mental health run along a spectrum from mental health promotion to the delivery of specialist perinatal mental health services, in line with the overarching objective of Ireland’s national mental health policy, Sharing the Vision, which views the provision of services and supports across a broad continuum. Actions under Sharing the Vision range from prevention and early intervention, service access, co-ordination and continuity of care, social inclusion and accountability and continuous improvement. A key recommendation under Sharing the Vision was the development of a stand-alone mental health promotion plan for Ireland and this plan, Pathways to Wellbeing, is now a reality. Launched over a year ago, Pathways to Wellbeing aims to strengthen protective factors for mental health at the individual, community and structural levels. It adopts a systems approach, promoting universal supports for all and targeted interventions for those most at risk. Strengthening the foundations for positive mental health in the early years is a key priority area within the plan. However, I must flag that some women do not want to get involved in such supports. That is probably a reflection of what they are going through, but they do not always reach out and attend supports. Maybe the onus is on us all to encourage people to avail of the supports that are available.

My Department will work with lead and supporting partners to increase access to antenatal and postnatal supports that improve maternal and infant mental well-being. This focus reflects the compelling international evidence that early relational support and nurturing environments are among the strongest predictors of lifelong mental health. By embedding mental health promotion supports within a broader whole-of-government approach, Pathways to Wellbeing seeks to create the conditions where positive mental health can flourish from the earliest stages of life and buffer against future inequalities. A phased implementation plan, currently in development, will set out clear actions, timelines and shared responsibilities to drive co-ordinated delivery across sectors and ensure sustained impact over the coming years.

For a small number of women, however, pregnancy and the perinatal period can become a more serious mental health issue or a relapse or recurrence of a pre-existing condition. This is really challenging, with potentially very negative effects on the relationship between mother, baby and the family unit, and specialist support is needed. That is why we have developed and continue to invest in our specialist perinatal mental health services, a HSE mental health service programme now available in all 19 maternity hospitals nationwide. I am particularly proud of this programme and I know it works very well. Services provide support to pregnant women and women with a baby up to one year old, so the mental health supports are there up to age one of the baby with an existing or new mental health problem.

Funding for services is approximately €4 million, recurring each year, with six consultant-led multidisciplinary teams in place across our major maternity hospitals, namely, the Coombe, Holles Street, the Rotunda, Galway, Cork and Limerick. Perinatal mental health midwives deliver the programme in the other 13 maternity sites. The HSE is progressing a review of the model of care for specialist perinatal mental health services, with a refreshed model due to be published later this year. The key objective of this refresh is the provision of equivalent service to the major hospital sites for the other 13 spoke sites and this will be the focus of this second phase of the model of care.

Under budget 2026, I have allocated funding to recruit two additional consultant psychiatrists for the programme’s busiest sites, the Rotunda and Holles Street, to meet growing demand for the service. I visited the Rotunda site a couple of years ago. It was around 10 March, which is International Women's Day. I met people using the service and those delivering it, and I was struck that one in every five women that year had accessed the mental health perinatal supports. In some cases, it was just that women were nervous being pregnant for the first time. They might not have had a lot of support at home, and just knowing the service was there was enough for them. There were other people who had enduring mental health conditions who needed a huge amount of support the whole way through. There were different cases. There were women who had given birth and had a traumatic birth, suffered panic attacks after the birth and needed that support after the baby was born. I was really struck by how important these supports are to women who are pregnant. As I said, I have allocated funding to recruit two additional consultant psychiatrists, such is the demand. I will continue to invest in this vital service to meet our programme for Government commitments to double the number of multidisciplinary perinatal mental health teams and increase the number of perinatal mental health midwife posts to ensure women are getting the support they need at this crucial moment in their lives.

A key priority under the model of care is to develop a perinatal mother and baby unit, PMBU, something I have been trying to push now for quite a few years. This is an inpatient mental health service with relevant maternity support to allow women to stay with their babies during their mental health treatment. My Department and the HSE are working to progress a perinatal mother and baby unit for Ireland, and I have been very clear that this is one of my key priorities for my second term in this office. To meet the needs of new mothers with moderate to severe mental illness, the perinatal mother and baby unit must be sited at a location with access to a maternity hospital as well as an acute mental health unit. This will ensure mental health and maternity expertise are always available. We have made progress. It is envisaged that the perinatal mother and baby unit will be developed on the grounds of St. Vincent’s University Hospital in Dublin. I thank Martina Queally, the regional executive officer of HSE Dublin and South East, which is my own area, and the board of St. Vincent’s University Hospital because we have come to an agreement on this unit. I am delighted about this. We are also going to build a new department of psychiatry on the site.

This morning, I spent three hours in committee with the Minister, Deputy Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, the Minister of State, Deputy Kieran O'Donnell, and the Minister of State, Deputy Jennifer Murnane O'Connor discussing the Estimates and the budget we have in the Department. I am delighted that for the first time ever I have a significant budget for capital for mental health supports. Up to 2030, I have secured €470 million under the national development plan. I have never had capital funding like this before, so I am really pleased. The allocation this year is €41 million, so there is another €429 million there, and watch me spend it, because I will spend it, which is key.

There was no mother and baby unit on the entire island, North or South. We are not going to stand still, though, because I have also had significant engagement with Sandra Broderick, the regional executive officer for HSE Mid West. I know she is keen to progress a perinatal mental health unit in Limerick to serve the west of the country and some CAMHS beds as well. I have seen her plans, and she has submitted them, so we are making progress.

Outside of hospital and clinic-based services which include psychological supports, women can access a range of mental health supports in the community, but we must encourage women to reach out for those supports. General practitioners are trained in the management of most common mental health conditions and also have access to mental health resources at a primary care level, and can refer their patients to counselling services, such as counselling in primary care, SilverCloud and community-based therapy services. HSE mental health services deliver a nationwide network of adult mental health teams as well, as all the Senators know.

To conclude, I once again thank the Senators, led by Senator Cosgrove, for this important debate. I believe there is another event in the audiovisual room next week.

Yes.

I want people to be in no doubt that this is an area of significant priority for me as the Minister of State for mental health. The programme of work under way and the investment we will make will continue to show this. As I told Senator Harmon outside, this is a really good and decent motion. The Department of Health and I do not oppose motions just for the sake of it because it is Government and Opposition. I am really looking forward to working with the Senators on this to deliver the motion.

The only place where it does not fall within our remit is in relation to the maternity benefit of up to 12 months. I am thinking back to my 32-year-old son, Jack. I was self-employed at the time and I was back in work after four weeks, so things have changed quite a lot and for the better. I thank the Acting Chairperson for the forbearance. I have to leave at about 2.50 p.m. I am sorry I will not be able to be here to hear everyone. I already had to juggle a meeting I had at 2 p.m. to be here, so I apologise in advance.

I thank the Minister of State for being here this afternoon and for her detailed response and in-depth presentation to us. It was not a whistle-stop tour she has given us, but a really good analysis of where maternity services are at in Ireland. I acknowledge the work of Senator Cosgrove and of the Cross-Party Group of Senators Noonan, Harmon and Stephenson in bringing this motion forward and giving us the opportunity to put the spotlight on the need to have a conversation around maternity mental health supports and services.

I also acknowledge the work the Minister of State has achieved concerning capital funding. It is fantastic. It is great to see that the work is being achieved. I acknowledge the work she has done with St. Vincent’s University Hospital to get to that stage. That agreement is really welcome, as is the fact we will now have one centre of excellence for mothers and babies in the country. Sandra Broderick is not a woman to be found wanting. It is great to think we have someone looking out for the west as well. Senator Maria Byrne and I, and I have no doubt others from the west, are quite happy to be sitting here knowing both sides are being recognised.

I welcome the opportunity to contribute and express my support for the motion and to acknowledge the importance of the issue being raised round postnatal care for women. There is no doubt the postnatal period can be a challenging time for many women, physically, emotionally and mentally. There is recovery from childbirth and adjusting to parenthood. The pressures that can arise during this period are very real and it is right that the State recognises its responsibility to support mothers during this time. It is not just mums, but the family as a whole that needs nurturing at that time.

I also acknowledge the work of the campaigner, Ms Gormley, because we always need an advocate to drive things forward. It is important to acknowledge that.

Yes, we do.

The principle of ensuring women can access timely, appropriate and affordable support following childbirth is shared across both Houses. In particular, access to mental health supports during the perinatal and postnatal period is critically important. This is an area where we must continue to ensure services are available when women need them.

I acknowledge the Year of Care campaign and the advocacy work that has helped to keep postnatal care firmly on the policy agenda. It has contributed to an important discussion about how we structure services and respond to women’s lived experiences after childbirth. However, it is equally important to recognise the significant progress that has been made by the Government and particularly in recent years by the Minister of State. I recall the day she visited the Coombe, and how proud she was to be delivering the perinatal mental health supports and to be meeting the physicians and staff and hearing at first hand the lived experience. It is great to think that 3,300 people have responded to the report. What we are delivering is a response, hopefully, to their lived experiences.

The national maternity strategy continues to provide a clear long-term framework for delivering safe, high-quality women-centred maternity and postnatal services. Under this strategy, we have sustained investment in staffing, infrastructure and models of care across maternity services nationwide. A key development has been the establishment, and Senator Cosgrove explained this, and expansion of the national postnatal hubs, which provide structured postnatal care in the community, including clinical check-ups, infant feeding support, physiotherapy, mental health screening and birth reflections.

All I could think of when the Minister of State was reading them out earlier on was the parliamentary question that is going in for phase 3 to find out where they are going. I have no doubt that is the next question that will be landing in.

Mental health supports have been significantly strengthened. Specialist perinatal mental health services are now co-operating with maternity networks, ensuring that women experiencing mental health difficulties during pregnancy and up to one year after birth can access specialist, multidisciplinary care. This is a substantial improvement on what existed previously. I know the Minister of State is rushing but it is important that she has the support of the senior Minister to deliver on her ambition and when it comes to capital funding because it is a team effort within the Department of Health and it is wonderful to have two strong women leading within the Department of Health.

I acknowledge Paul Cuddihy, former councillor and teacher, and the students from Kilkenny College that have just gone out the door. They were here with Deputy Callaghan today. They were in the Gallery. I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Murnane O'Connor, and thank her very much. I congratulate and thank Senators Cosgrove, Harmon, Stephenson and Noonan for bringing forward this motion. I acknowledge Aolish Gormley in terms of the year of care.

The Minister of State, Deputy Butler has outlined a lot of what has happened in the Department, as has Senator Rabbitte. In the past, while I am not a parent myself, I have visited the perinatal unit, especially in University Hospital Limerick, under the stewardship of Dr. Mas Mohamad. On the delivery that is carried out there in terms of support, I read an article in the newspaper recently about a lady who was going through an awful lot of severe mental health issues during her pregnancy. She said after going to visit Dr. Mas Mohamad and the team that her fears were allayed. Certainly the supports and services they gave her throughout her pregnancy were something else, and she really could not speak highly enough about it. When I think of the work that is carried on in a very small unit, I note the Minister of State spoke about more investment coming. In addition, the plans that Sandra Broderick, REO in Limerick and in UHL, has put before her, are to be commended. I have seen Sandra's plans myself and what she intends to try to bring into that whole area of perinatal health. When you are dealing with UHL, you are dealing with the whole of the mid-west. It is not just Limerick, it is the mid-west. It is frightening to think that one in five women suffers from mental health issues during pregnancy or afterwards. That is quite a high statistic.

I compliment the Minister of State, Deputy Butler on her commitment in this area, because I have visited places with her in the past and have spoken to her about issues in relation to it. Her own personal commitment is evident. Even during the time she gave us here during the Mental Health Bill recently, it was clear she is very much on top of her brief. A new hub is to be opened in 2026 for Waterford, Limerick, Cavan and Letterkenny. I am not sure if the Minister can tell me when that hub is opening. As I am aware that there is not really room on the grounds of the current maternity hospital for a new hub, I presume it will be part of the bigger picture regarding the new 200-bed option B to do with the redevelopment of the University of Limerick. As there are plans to consider bringing a maternity hospital to that site as well, I presume there will be a temporary hub until that happens.

The HSE continues to review the model of care to strengthen standardisation. When the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, was speaking, she was speaking about perinatal services being in six areas. As I say, I am very aware of the one in Limerick but many of them are being carried out by perinatal health nurses. I would love to see them being expanded. From what the Minister of State was saying and her extra funding in relation to it, that is probably what she is looking at.

Overall, the motion is very timely, and it does tie in with what the Minister of State and the Government are doing. It is about us all working together in terms of strengthening what is there and maybe even making submissions to the Minister of State and working with her in relation to areas that we see, where maybe things are not working as efficiently and highlighting that. I compliment the Senators and look forward to supporting their motion.

Sula nglaoim ar an gcéad Seanadóir eile, ba mhaith liom fáilte a chur roimh cuairteoirí. I welcome the residents group from Ballytarsna, County Carlow, who are guests of the Minister of State, Deputy Murnane O'Connor, and Senator Daly. They are very welcome and we hope they enjoy their visit to Leinster House. Glaoim ar Sheanadóir Clonan.

I thank the Minister of State for coming along today. I am here to support my colleagues in the Cross-Party group and Senator Cosgrove for this Private Member's motion. I also want to thank the Government for not opposing it, but more importantly, for supporting this motion on maternal mental health supports. I want to say, as a man and as a father, I have had five children and have been in and out of the Coombe plenty of times, as well as Holles Street hospital. It is a very fast-moving, tough environment for everybody, and all sorts of unexpected and unanticipated outcomes arise. In the past, as a species, when we had babies we had the extended family, what our Constitution, Bunreacht na hÉireann refers to as “an teaghlach”, the household. We had grandparents, aunts, neighbours and so on and they would all step in and support. However, women today, Irish women who are having babies, go from - and the throughput is very fast, one can be out of the Coombe or Holles Street very quickly, they can be home within 24 to 48 hours. There is then a period of isolation which is unnatural. Irish women are expected not only to carry the economic burden of this Republic and to participate fully in our economic activity, but to carry the burden of child rearing and everything that childbirth brings in the postnatal space.

As a parent, I have experienced parental bereavement with our little girl Liadain, and I know from working with Senator Ryan and my great colleagues across all the parties, that the postnatal period, whatever the situation is, can be very complex and challenging and demanding. In the absence of an teaghlach, it is really important that we have these supports. I conclude by saying my mother, Bláithín McIntyre, experienced some difficulties after her last pregnancy and she took to the bed, which we now know probably meant that she had post-natal depression. This was in Finglas in 1969 and the Holy Faith nuns, after talking to my older sisters, knew that my mum was in difficulty so they took me into St. Canice's Girls' National School. At the age of three, the nuns took me into the national school, and I spent the best part of a year in junior infants with the girls there. It had a very important formative effect on me. Again, on how the community steps in, that is when my grandmother came to live with us. Máiréad Begley was from Kerry and was a member of Cumann na mBan during the War of Independence. She was part of the south Dublin brigade of the IRA. She came to live with us and she looked after me, and she was probably what we would call today a dissident republican. Because of my mother's difficulties, I got quite the education as part of my republican formation.

Senator Rabbitte mentioned strong women. In the time that I have been here, there are not enough of them, but there are great women in this Parliament, in both Houses.

I commend the great women of the Cross-Party Group, and Senator Noonan, on this initiative. I commend my colleagues across all the parties who have shown great solidarity in this regard. I congratulate Senator Cosgrove on the Bill. I am delighted to hear that the Government has committed to support her and work with her. It is something that will benefit all of us - men, women and society as a whole.

I welcome the Minister of State. I thank Senator Cosgrove and the Cross-Party Group for bringing forward this motion. Anything to talk about women's health is mo ghrá.

We are here to discuss postnatal mental health but we cannot do that honestly without recognising that for many women, mental health challenges do not begin at birth. They begin much earlier, often after loss, trauma and complicated pregnancies. Irish and international research consistently shows that prior history of mental ill health is one of the strongest predictors of postnatal mental health difficulties. More recent Irish survey data confirms that women with previous mental health diagnoses or those who experience high risk or complicated pregnancies report significantly higher levels of anxiety after birth. The evidence is incredibly stark. Research published in The Lancet miscarriage series shows that women who experience miscarriage have 2.4 to 2.8 times higher odds of depression and four times the odds of post-traumatic stress disorder, PTSD, compared with those who have not experienced a loss. A large cohort study following women after miscarriage found that nearly one in five met the criteria for PTSD nine months later, with significant levels of anxiety and depression still present to this day.

I do not know if many people in the Houses know, but I am currently pregnant. It is my second pregnancy. I am six months into this journey. I found out very early in my pregnancy that I was pregnant. What I did not understand or realise was that when I initially had my miscarriage in 2024, that miscarriage would not just take the pregnancy that I had but would take the joy out of the pregnancy that was to come. When I found out I was pregnant, I did not feel joy and happiness and all the lovely feelings you are supposed to feel. I felt instant fear, dread and anxiety from the moment I tested. I took about 30 tests in the first two weeks because what my body was preparing me for was the worst-case scenario, because that was all it knew during my first pregnancy.

I struggled hard with my mental health and was not aware of what was happening. Between all the symptoms that you have in the first trimester and balancing work and pregnancy, and just being so afraid of what would happen, I started to retreat. Any time I was at home, I did not want to go out because I feared that me walking around would do something to harm the pregnancy. I retreated into myself. I stopped talking to people or interacting with anybody. My partner became worried about me so I became worried about myself. It was not normal behaviour for me. I reached out and contacted the mental health department of Cork University Maternity Hospital, CUMH. I did even know that CUMH had a mental health team. From the minute I contacted them, they were amazing. I cannot fault them. I had midwives checking in with me every few days. They would call or text me to see how I was doing before I was able to see a pregnancy loss specialist therapist to help me. Every week was a challenge and a hurdle. I got to 12 weeks and the next thing I was worried about was getting to my next scan, my next appointment.

When I got to 23 weeks, my first thought was not, "Wow, I got through the anatomy scan" or "This child is now viable." My first thought was that in the eyes of the State, this pregnancy now mattered and if something were to go wrong, I would get time off and a certificate, which I did not have the first time.

Even though I am now allowing myself to feel the joy somewhat, I still worry every single day. Every day, I have to manage myself and my anxiety levels. I cannot even think about the birth because I am already thinking about what if I get postnatal depression afterward. How am I going to support myself? Who is going to support me through this? It is fantastic that the Government is putting money into this because it is so needed for many of us. Women are expected to have babies, carry on, contribute to society, be superwomen, go to work, keep the household running and all of this kind of stuff with the bare minimum of support and the minimum understanding that they are not only carrying all those burdens but that during pregnancy and the transference period, their identity is changing. Women are becoming mothers and taking on new lives and the responsibility of having a living thing that is not a dog in their vicinity. They have children to take care of and shape how they see the world. That is immense pressure for women. It is great that there is more funding and research. We need that continuously in this space.

Studies from England show that the rates of postnatal depression in the second year after birth are almost identical to the first year. One study found a prevalence of 15% between 13 and 24 months post partum. The strongest risk factor of all is mental illness in the first year.

It is great that we are having this debate. We need more supports and they must be provided for longer. We must think about the long term and consider how we can support women to thrive. Postnatal mental health cannot be treated as a short-term issue because it is not. It cannot be treated as disconnected from pregnancy loss, the trauma that we face and prior mental ill health. This motion is the reality and recognises that, and ensures that women are supported not just to survive pregnancy in birth but to recover, parent and thrive.

I thank Senator Ryan for sharing her personal story. I am sure it is of help to those who find it difficult to do the same. I call Senator Flynn. Is she sharing time?

I am. I will see how it goes. I will give Senator Higgins one minute or five minutes. I will say a few words, if that is okay. May I share my time with Senator Higgins?

You may, yes. Is that agreed? Agreed.

I thank the Minister of State for being here. When I first came into these Houses, I had a wee girl who was five months old. She is now six years of age. I remember those early days. As a member of the Traveller community, I knew that my child was at more risk of cot death than the children of the other women in the unit with me. I felt overwhelmed at being a first-time mother and as a woman from the Traveller community, not feeling good enough.

I had Billy before I came to this House. I remember trying to go to the Society of St. Vincent de Paul for support in Donegal. I remember my husband saying that we cannot go for any financial support because it is for people within the community. In the six years since, I have learned that there is always hope if the right supports are there. What I am trying to say, as Senator Clonan said, is that the community gets in and wraps around you but in my case, I was very isolated. I was living in rural Ireland. For women in rural Ireland, especially those from ethnic minority groups, it can feel daunting. I remember being terrified of telling the nurses that I was feeling down. Years ago, it was called the baby blues. Women were told they would be grand and only had the baby blues. It is not the baby blues. It is postnatal depression and we are not ashamed to talk about it any more.

I heard the Minister of State's speech. She spoke about the services in Dublin. One of my colleagues talked about the service hubs in the west. It is important that we recognise postnatal services outside Dublin for all women. The Minister of State spoke about the fear of coming forward. Some women feel they cannot come forward. I always spoke up for women's rights but at the same time, when the shoe was on my foot, I felt absolutely lost.

It is brilliant that the Cross-Party Group has brought forward this motion, but a motion is only a motion. It means absolutely nothing unless the Department supports it, gets behind it and the Senators who have brought it forward, and gets behind the women. It is important that we stop talking about services and start implementing them in mental health in general in this country. We have come a long way but, by God, we have a long way to go. We must deal with children's mental health and postnatal mental health, and address the little to no mental health supports available to people in the country.

That is an issue for another day. I again welcome the Senators' motion and the Civil Engagement Group is delighted to support it.

I want to add my voice in support of the motion. I wish to highlight this particular period when people are extremely vulnerable and a small number of supports are currently available. I know from other people's experience that one visit from a nurse was an incredible and amazing support that came in when they needed it. Other people felt they were being checked up on and examined. It was almost a case of proving to a nurse that one was able for the overwhelming task of caring for the new life for which one is responsible. The emphasis is all about putting on a brave face. I had two visits and got the support or help I needed at the second one.

There is a checkup at six weeks. For so many people the focus in the first six weeks is on keeping an incredible but very fragile creature alive. People are so focused on how the baby is that it is very difficult to express what one needs at that point. It is often in the long journey between six to 12 weeks that some of the needs come through. They often arise in a situation whereby one is time poor and overwhelmed and the sleep deprivation hits. There are many other areas. People struggle to breastfeed. I struggled and was then lucky enough that it worked and kept working, but it was almost hour by hour in the early days. Lactation support is important.

I have spoken to friends who have mental health issues which they struggled with prior to pregnancy. Many have had periods without their medication. They are not just dealing with a huge new challenge, but also perhaps dealing with a period, especially for those who are breastfeeding, where they may not have the medications they had at other times. There are many layers to this.

We have heard today that each woman's needs are different. Rather than feeling one is a checklist for a doctor and public health nurse, having a whole set of supports that one can dip into at the moment in time when one needs them the most is crucial. I had facts and figures. There have been maternal death inquiries. Between 42 days and one year after pregnancy is a vulnerable time in terms of suicide. The consequences can be very severe. We want to make this a joyful, happy and supported time, as well as avoiding the kind of extreme danger which the facts show us exists.

I highly commend all of the proposals, including the maternity proposals which I know the Minister of State did not speak to. I hope we will be able to value women and all of those who are going through the experience of a new child and give them the support they need. Wraparound supports should be available for everybody, regardless of where their community is in Ireland or their family circumstances. It should be something that is available to everybody.

I thank Senators Cosgrove, Harmon, Noonan and Stephenson for bringing forward this important motion on improving mental health supports in this country. Motherhood can be a joyful and exciting time, but it also brings with it concern, worry and challenges as mothers enter a new stage in their lives. They usually feel overwhelmed, worried and concerned and are dealing with sleepless nights. We know that around one in five women face mental health difficulties in the time surrounding childbirth. We have to make sure that maternal mental health is given the same priority as physical health conditions as both can severely impact on the life of the mother or their newborn and the family.

The Year of Care campaign driven by Aolish Gormley is an important is initiative that advocates for supports for new mothers for up to a year after childbirth. It would provide postnatal checks and ensure that the mother and child have all of the resources needed to thrive during this important and formative period. Postnatal care must continue past the standard six-week checkup. The six-week checkup appointment is often the only dedicated checkup that mothers have after childbirth, yet for many women the effects of childbirth can last for months post partum and the challenges may not become clear until after those first six weeks when their support, family and friends begin to fade. I am delighted that the Government is supporting the motion, given its significance and the reassurance it will offer to first-time mothers and those who have previously missed out on key postnatal supports after giving birth.

I want to pick up on something the Minister of State said, namely, that we must encourage women to reach out. She is right. Senator Higgins was correct when she said that most women put on a brave face because they do not want to be a burden and are supposed to be able to deal with this change in life. We have to normalise ensuring wraparound supports for every woman are available.

Senator Clonan referred to the family. Most families do not have the support they had years ago. It is important that we replace that. I have a friend married to a girl from Thailand. When she had her baby, the whole village came for the first year. They washed her hair, took the baby, helped feed the baby and cooked meals. It is in their culture to help the women in the village who have children. Women these days are under so much pressure, as Senator Ryan said. There are unrealistic expectations to have a baby, career, body, figure and to lose the weight. We put these pressures on ourselves. Most women put on a brave face. We need to focus on normalising support for every woman.

Before I call on Senator Conway, I welcome Croom Active Retirement Group on a mystery tour. The mother-in-law of Deputy Richard O'Donoghue is in the group. Was that part of the mystery? Where is Richard's mother-in-law? You are most welcome to Seanad Éireann. Normally when I tell young people like yourselves that when you are in Seanad Éireann there is no homework for the rest of the week. I do not know what incentive I can give you. Richard is a great guest of the House. I am sure you will be at the Members' bar later for refreshments. I thank you all for keeping it a secret. You were not told. That must have been some shock this morning. I am sure you thought you were going to Limerick city. That is quite a mystery tour. Well done to Richard.

Ar an gcéad dul síos, tacaím le Senator Cosgrove and Senator Harmon in front of me on this enlightened and, as always, timely motion for the House to consider regarding the arrival of new life on our planet and country and all that goes with that. Back in the day, when I was being educated in St. Patrick's College in Drumcondra to befit me for a life of teaching, one of the most weighty tomes we had on our library shelves was a book called Child Development and Personality. I am sure Senator Clonan will probably remember that. It was a doorstopper of a book. Nonetheless, it was a very useful book and we reverted to it time and again when training to be teachers.

The point I am making is that when my own children came along, I felt that as a person trained as an educationalist I was probably a bit more advantaged than the normal young man at the time because I had been professionally taught to look into the development, arrival, growth and personality of children. That was a rich resource given to me in parenting. Having said that, in the same way most other parents would acknowledge, and we have lots of parents in this room, the one thing they will agree with me in saying is that parenting is not an exact science. When it starts, most of us muddle through trauma, nights of sleeplessness and exhaustion and dissociation from normal working life. Lots of things go on that make it a difficult time, notwithstanding the great joy of new life and all that goes with it.

I looked at a couple of statistics in preparation for our debate this afternoon. I do not want to be in any way ungenerous to the motion because it is important that we acknowledge the great difficulty that assails the bodies and minds of women in expecting children, delivering them and nurturing them afterwards. It is an immensely challenging time. However, I do not want us to think it is just a female obligation because we have to acknowledge that we have a male input into this. Depending on the level of support those males get, so will be the benefit for that child as the child grows up.

I would like to look at the paternity benefits and provisions that are made for men in Ireland. After the arrival of a child, they get 14 days of statutory leave. If you look down through the EU list, that is pretty well at the bottom of the pile. It goes significantly upwards to countries like the Netherlands, which has 40-odd days. Spain is at the top of the group with 114 days of paternity leave. All the statistics show that depending on the level of the father's engagement in the time after the birth, both supporting his partner and supporting the child, so will be the benefits that redound on the child as it goes through preschool, schooling years and afterwards. We must not, as a society, see this as just supporting the mental and physical health of women. The men support the child as well and they support their partners. The whole family unit, the teaghlach Senator Clonan mentioned, will be greatly enhanced if there are more supports in our society for men as well.

I know from being a principal in a rural area that a lot of young men will ask me what training they got to be a father. A lot of these chaps are parenting in their early 20s, at a time when they self-admit that they are immature young men. To expect them to take on the support of a partner and the support of a child, to hold down a job, to go through sleepless nights and all of those things is a big ask. We should also look at the suicide rates in males, where 77% of the population in the suicide stakes are male. The two highest cohorts are men between the ages of 15 and 25 and between the ages of 40 and 44. That also tells a story of a vulnerability in men. I know for a fact that men are very unlikely to admit they are failing, they are weak or they are not coping. Consequently, they may not reach out to get the supports they need at a time of great stress in their lives and their family lives.

I do not want this to be misinterpreted in any way as a sort of a gender conflict or anything like that. I absolutely praise the Senator for bringing forward this motion, but I want us to stop for a moment in recognition of the fact that this is a two-way street. Young men, in particular, and fathers in general need lots of support as well.

Ar dtús, ba mhaith liom mo bhuíochas a ghabháil le mo chara as an tairiscint seo. I thank my colleague Senator Cosgrove for bringing forward this motion as part of our Cross-Party Group motion. I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Murnane O'Connor, and her colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, for their very positive response.

Our youngest daughter is 11 years old. I do not think this range of services for young mothers was available at that time. We have come a long way. We have to recognise that, and it is important. It is supposed to be a happy time for a young mother. They came home with their new baby and there are the lovely new baby smells, the baby powder, the Milton and all of the babygros which I loved when they came into our house. A young mother is supposed to be happy, but it is not always the case. Once again, Senator Ryan has articulated her view so eloquently this afternoon and I wish her well in her time ahead. When she spoke to this motion for all expectant and new mothers, it was more powerful than any of the words the rest of us could say this afternoon.

I welcome that the Minister of State has responded so positively. Usually in this House it is supposed to be partisan, but the Minister of State has brought forward a positive response to a motion that is something my colleague and the Cross-Party Group feel strongly about. I thank Aolish Gormley and the Year of Care campaign, which has done a wonderful piece of work by shining a light on a serious challenge for some mothers. I listened to Senator Flynn. Mothers from minority backgrounds, particularly the Traveller community, many times have to go home to difficult living conditions. The range of support being put forward now is important, but we are nowhere near where we need to be. That is why this motion is important.

I welcome the commitment the Minister of State has given on perinatal mother and baby units. That is important to build on the pilot schemes that have already been rolled out. I welcome that there is funding to do this work, and she is committed to spending it. Today is a positive day. Unusually in this House we have cross-party support and Government support for this motion. I thank the Minister of State and her colleague and ask her to take back a positive message from us in opposition and our Cross-Party Group that we are willing to work, and want to work, with the Government to ensure that all of the ambition the Minister of State has outlined in her opening remarks will be realised. We will not be found wanting in supporting that because this is a country that could be a shining light for new and expectant mothers. We should expect nothing less than that and have no less ambition than that.

I echo the support for Senator Cosgrove for bringing this motion forward. I am delighted we were able to use our time in the Cross-Party Group for this. Here are just a few quotes from women talking about their experiences after having their children: "I got one phone call in the six weeks after I gave birth and the one question I can recall that nurse asking me was if I loved my child", "My mental health was only important while pregnant" and "After a traumatic birth I developed anxiety disorder." For women, childbirth is the most profound and life-changing event they will ever experience, and yet the maternity infant scheme in Ireland has not been updated for 27 years. Generations and generations more of women in Ireland have experienced under-resourced services and limited provisions. Maternal care ending just six weeks after birth is archaic.

Six short weeks after giving birth, as we know and as we have heard, a mother is often still physically and mentally recovering, hormone levels are fluctuating, sleep deprivation is intense and the demands of caring for newborns are relentless. At this point formal maternity support largely disappears. By then, a partner, if there is one, will have returned to work, routines resume and the expectation is that the mother is "over it", that she has had the baby and that life goes on.

For many women, however, this is exactly when the difficulties begin rather than end. Physical recovery can take months, even after an uncomplicated pregnancy and birth, and complications can extend that time significantly. I am sure we all have horrifying stories to tell of friends and loved ones going through incredibly traumatic birth experiences that have made recovery very difficult. It is in this period that emotional challenges can deepen. What begins as the baby blues does not always resolve and can develop into postnatal depression or anxiety if left unsupported. The National Childbirth Trust describes the post-birth period as the fourth trimester, the crucial stage of adjustment for both baby and parent. While attention naturally centres on the newborn, the needs of mothers are too often overlooked. Yet supporting mental health recovery during this period is essential, not only for women's health, which is crucial, but for the well-being of families and children in the long term. It is this crucial stage, the perinatal stage, that for some women can be extremely difficult.

We need to do better. Perinatal care for women in Ireland remains underdeveloped, despite the clear need and evidence and despite previous policy commitments. Perinatal mental health difficulties can affect up to one in five women during pregnancy and the first year after birth, yet we continue to lack a fully resourced multidisciplinary mental health unit. The national maternity strategy, which was published ten years ago in 2016 explicitly promised the establishment of that unit and that we would have multidisciplinary care, yet we wait and the women of Ireland wait. The absence of this dedicated unit means that women experiencing severe mental ill health during pregnancy or post partum are often treated in general adult psychiatric settings. This is where huge issues around post partum can take place. Women are frequently also separated from their babies. This undermines the bonding process and can make the trauma worse at an extremely vulnerable time for women and their families. It is unfair that families are left to navigate these incredibly fragmented and inconsistent supports. That unit needs to be brought to fruition as soon as possible to improve the outcomes for mothers and their babies, to reduce long-term mental ill health and the social costs and to fulfil a promise to mothers in this country that we have had for a decade.

I echo what Senator Flynn said about regionalisation and support for rural mothers and women living in rural areas. Rural living can cause isolation in general, but that is compounded for new mothers. They cannot hop out onto the street and pound the pavements with a newborn baby in the same way. They have to wrangle the child into the car to find somewhere safe to walk, for example.

I acknowledge, like many other people here have done, the work of Aolish Gormley, in developing her Year of Care campaign. She has created a vision for maternal health in Ireland: a vision where a mother is not isolated after six weeks; a vision where a mother does not feel alone and does not struggle in silence; and a vision that is about meeting a mother where she is, prioritising her care both physically and emotionally to allow her to thrive and create those healthy structures, which are crucial baselines for a family.

This is at the core about equity. It is at the core a women's rights issue. It says that no matter the socioeconomic background, the ethnicity or where a woman lives, postnatal care and supports should be available to all mothers. I am delighted that there has been a commitment from the Government to pursue these specific requests. Women's health has a lot of challenges in Ireland, and the commitment the Minister laid out will be a step towards addressing some of those gaps.

I am absolutely overwhelmed. I am delighted about the support we have received here. I thank all the Senators for their honesty and for telling their own stories. It is really appreciated. I give a huge thank you to the Minister of State. It is definitely no coincidence that it is all women Ministers driving this. I thank Senator Rabbitte for all the work she did coming up to this. She did a lot of work, as did the Ministers of State, Deputies Butler and Murnane O'Connor, and the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill. They drove this, and the commitment is there now to push it on. I did not know whether or not there would be support. I am delighted not only that they have committed to actual actions that Aolish has recommended in the Year of Care campaign but also that there is actually money being put behind it. That is really important, particularly something like the perinatal mother and baby unit, which is so welcome to hear.

We have heard stories today. I am a mother. I have three children. I know how difficult that time is, and it does not get any easier, especially with a third child. I was lucky enough to have a mortgage, but my maternity leave ended. I had to go back to work after six months. We have come a long way, as the Minister of State said, since our parents had us as children, but women have 26 weeks to go back to work and give the baby over to someone to look after. The people minding them are the most wonderful people. I was lucky that I was able to find childcare for my baby, my youngest boy, at six months, whereas now women are not able to do that. They have the worry about giving birth to the child and, like Senator Ryan said, about whether they will get postnatal depression. That is always in the back of our minds. Many of my friends and many people I know have had postnatal depression. That is always there, but then there are these extra worries about where we will get childcare, how we will pay our mortgage, how we will pay our rent and how we will pay our bills.

I hope we can work in tandem on this. The Labour Party has a Bill providing that maternity pay is fully paid up to one year and flexible work options. While we look for childcare, we are also relying a lot on family and friends who might be able to help us with flexible work options.

Most importantly, I want to say a huge thank you. I am so proud of Aolish. She is an early years provider. She runs Réalta Beaga from Coolaney. She has set this campaign up herself. She did it because she was looking for help and did not know where to get it. She has brought a group of women around her, and it is women supporting women. I am so proud of what she has done. Again, I commend her on bringing this forward. She stuck with this campaign herself. She did it with no money. She produced booklets by herself. She looked at the resources that were there. She very much recognises that there are community services there, the voluntary community sector and the healthcare providers, including GPs. We all know that midwives, GP care and public health nurses need to be properly resourced. The most important thing from this is that we know now that the commitment from the Government is there. I am absolutely delighted. Gabhaim míle buíochas leis an Aire Stáit. It is absolutely wonderful. Ar scáth a chéile a mhaireann na daoine.