Sir, – After reading “Living with endometriosis, a disease so horrible and painful, it has upended my life”, (July 12th) I felt compelled to write to you with my own frustration and growing anger at the disgraceful treatment of women living with endometriosis in Ireland.
It is widely acknowledged that it takes up to 10 years to be diagnosed with this condition, all while women suffer debilitating symptoms, are misdiagnosed, or dismissed entirely.
In that time, many endure significant absenteeism from work, or suffer in silence at their desks, all while minimising symptoms society has taught them to endure.
Yet, the injustice does not end with diagnosis. Health insurers routinely classify endometriosis as a pre-existing condition, even when no medical professional has ever confirmed it.
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It is absurd and cruel that a condition women may not even know they have, often because of these very diagnostic delays, is then weaponised against them to block access to the surgeries they so often need by the time they are diagnosed.
This policy feels like an exploitation of the disease’s very nature. Endometriosis is linked to menstruation, so insurers can argue that any historical period pain or symptoms were evidence of a pre-existing condition, even if there is no mention of this in a patient’s medical history.
This approach punishes women twice: first by a healthcare system that fails to diagnose them promptly, and then by insurers who exploit the very nature of the disease to retrospectively deny coverage.
Ireland deserves better. Women deserve better. – Yours, etc,
LIZZIE WHITCHER,
Rush,
Co Dublin.
Sir, – I write in support of Lisa Tierney-Keogh’s powerful and moving story. Her account of suffering, made worse by invalidating and disbelieving medical professionals, resonates with so many of us living with unseen or complex health conditions.
Medicine – medical culture – needs to change. We need a healthcare system based on listening, where patients are not punished for having conditions that are complicated or hard to treat. Where women’s pain is never met with a label like “hypochondriac”.
Though I am inspired and awed by the author’s perseverance and determination, finding appropriate care shouldn’t be contingent on her having an incredible degree of inner strength and self-belief.
And to the author herself: thank you for sharing your story. On behalf of those of us in Ireland suffering with unseen or complex health conditions: we believe you. – Yours, etc.,
SAMUEL ROGERS,
Rathmines,
Dublin 6.
Sir, – Your article highlighting the case of Sarah Jane Allen, who was left €15,000 out of pocket after seeking care for endometriosis abroad due to gaps in Irish services, fell short of vital information. (“Woman saving for home left with €15,000 medical bills due to endometriosis care gaps,” July 14th).
Her experience reflects a widespread failure in the health system – but it also highlights an important point that deserves clarification.
Under EU law, patients in Ireland are eligible for reimbursement for medically necessary treatment received in another EU country through the cross-border healthcare directive, and in some cases, through the treatment abroad scheme, if the treatment isn’t offered here by the HSE.
While these schemes normally require certain pre-approvals – such as a GP referral or consultant recommendation, the Irish implementation of the directive does not categorically exclude retrospective reimbursement.
In fact, patients who were unaware of these schemes at the time they sought treatment may still be entitled to reimbursement, provided that the treatment is publicly available in Ireland (even with waiting lists), it was medically necessary, and a GP or consultant can now confirm that they would have issued a referral had they been asked in advance.
The European Court of Justice has ruled that lack of awareness of administrative procedures should not unjustly deprive patients of their rights under EU law – especially where care was urgent or otherwise inaccessible in the patient’s home country.
Women with endometriosis, who are already navigating a complex and underfunded health system, should not also be punished for failing to navigate little-known legal pathways.
Ms Allen, and many others like her, have a legal route to full reimbursement and the HSE has a duty to facilitate that, not obstruct it. – Yours, etc,
DECLAN DOYLE.
Lisdowney,
Co Kilkenny.
EU and its next move on Gaza
Sir, – In late June, the EU concluded that Israel was “in breach” of the human rights obligations of the EU-Israel Trade Agreement.
The EU’s decision at the time was to defer action against Israel for one month with the hope that it would restore humanitarian aid to Gaza.
In the past few days the EU has announced a largely aspirational agreement with Israel to improve aid, without any means of monitoring or enforcing the agreement.
Initial reports indicate that aid groups have yet to see tangible effects from the agreement.
In fact, since this agreement, killings at aid stations have continued, with the deaths of 10 people including six children at a water station described as a technical error.
A UN source reported on Saturday that at least 798 people have been killed in six weeks near Gaza aid points. At the same time, Israel is planning to move the entire Gaza population to a so-called humanitarian camp in Southern Gaza.
It is in this context that EU foreign ministers will meet today (July 15th). Vice-president of the European Commission, Kaja Kallas, is expected to unveil a dozen potential measures that the EU could take to put further pressure on Israel.
If, at this meeting, the EU fail to agree on any significant impactful measures to put pressure on Israel, they will be making a conscious decision to allow Netanyahu to continue his plan for the cleansing of Gaza and are complicit by their inaction.
Article 2 of the Treaty on the European Union states that “the European Union is founded on the values of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities”.
Even at this late stage, the EU must act in accordance with its own stated values. – Yours, etc,
DES SMITH,
Dundrum,
Dublin.
Sir, – There is a generation that carries memories of Live Aid – the goodwill and the hope – and then, 10 years later, the despair and impotence of being an individual in the face of the genocide perpetrated in Srebrenica.
Perhaps we thought then that no one would let another such atrocity happen on their watch.
But here we are – and the horrible thought strikes me that, were Live Aid to happen now, the aid wouldn’t get through.
As UNRWA is banished from Gaza, other aid workers targeted, and the desperately hungry are corralled into lines of easy targets for American contractors and the Israel Defense Forces, we protest, donate, and pray (if we pray), and the people we gave power to prevaricate, discuss, and demur.
Yes, we have been joined by a fine new generation, but it’s still also our watch. –Yours, etc,
KAREN J McDONNELL,
Ballyvaughan.
Co Clare.
Sir, – Your columnist Paul Gillespie writes: “Irish people support Palestinians because they recognise the settler colonial process at play” (July 12th).
Later, he states: “However most Irish people support Palestinians because they recognise a similar process to be at play there as here, notwithstanding the nuances.”
Can such a statement be quantified with real data. How many people are “most” Irish people ?
I have never been asked to answer a poll on the question of whom I support in the tragic conflict that inflicts ongoing pain and destruction on both the Palestinian and Israeli people.
I have nothing but compassion, sympathy and human love for the Palestinian and Israeli people who suffer on a daily basis as a result of this conflict.
However, I wish to state that as an Irish person, who has worked in the Middle East, the situation in that region is very complex and, as your writer states, contains many “nuances”.
I am an Irish person. I support a peaceful solution to the conflict, but I do take exception to my nationality being represented by your writer as supportive of one side over another purely because of that nationality. – Yours, etc,
JOHN FIELD,
Sallynoggin,
Co Dublin.
Talking rubbish
Sir, – Why on earth as a nation can we not clean up when leaving the beach? During this beautiful weather, when the beaches are very busy, why can every individual not tidy up and bring home their refuse?
Stop complaining about lack of bins or bins being too full – simply bring the rubbish home! – Yours, etc,
LAURA O’MARA,
Stillorgan,
Co Dublin.
Out of touch, or out of date?
Sir, – Finn McRedmond contrasts Oasis’s music with Spanish artist Pablo Picasso’s masterpiece Guernica (“Oasis: You can’t write. You don’t care. No wonder you’ve gone a long way,” July 10th). She ascribes the lasting appeal of Oasis to being “functionally apolitical”.
In contrast, she considers Guernica somehow dated. She writes “Picasso’s Guernica is still pretty good, but I prefer paintings without such explicit arguments”.
If I follow the logic, I think she means that if you dare to draw conclusions from the world around you, you run the risk of becoming irrelevant.
If you have the courage to call out what you see to be wrong then time might pass you by. Better to concern yourself with “Cigarettes and alcohol” than systematic, cold blooded slaughter.
In Guernica, Picasso shows the horror and violence of a military power reigning terror and destruction on a defenceless civilian population with no chance of escape. It is explicit. It is terrifying. At least it’s not relevant. – Yours, etc,
RORY KENNELLY,
Blackrock,
Co Dublin.
No more lawnmower
Sir, – It was very good to read of Richard Gelletlie’s concern for the fate of the bees that were getting killed by his lawnmower while feeding on the clover in his lawn (Letters, July 14th).
One option he did not mention, which requires no new invention, is not just to “slow down to a crawl,” but to simply stop!
It comes down to priorities – which matters more, a neatly mown lawn or a rich foraging ground, not just for bees, but many other beautiful insects and other invertebrates as well?
While we humans seem to place great value on neatness in our gardens and so called green spaces, for many of our fellow creatures it results in impoverished, low value habitat and forces them to go elsewhere – that’s if there is any “elsewhere” left! – Yours, etc,
KATHERINE QUIRKE,
Dun Laoghaire,
Co Dublin.
Talk to Joe, somebody
Sir, – Joe Duffy’s reprise of his radio show in the form of advertising reminds me of Karl Marx’s reflection of history: first time as tragedy, second time as farce.
Joe really needs to talk to someone. – Yours, etc,
EOGHAN MAC CORMAIC,
Kilchreest,
Galway
Soviet-style apartments
Sir, – Orla Hegarty asks if Dublin is ready for “drab Soviet style apartment blocks?” (July 13th).
Dublin already experimented with this model of building in Ballymun. Those apartment blocks were demolished in recent years for all the reasons associated with building without proper infrastructure.
I see nothing in the current plans that would make things any different on this occasion.
Storage and utility space, decent-sized balconies and common recreational areas are essential to the mental and physical health of residents. Packing people into small unit spaces, while ostensibly solving one problem, will only cause others in their place. – Yours, etc,
SHEILA O’FLANAGAN,
Clontarf,
Dublin.
Sir, – For years Frank McDonald, The Irish Times environment correspondent, campaigned for more and more apartment blocks because they were the ideal, environmentally friendly, suitable accommodation for the Irish population.
From his recent article it appears that he has changed his mind and moved to the suburbs. (“Why I moved out of Temple Bar after 25 years: I feared our home would become uninhabitable,” July 12th).
Tough for those who don’t have that option. – Yours, etc,
RICHARD ALLEN,
Cummeen,
Co Sligo.
Rejection is hard, but rejection by...
Sir, – Apropos of recent discourse, I am quite flabbergasted that letter writers to The Irish Times would migrate to the Irish Independent, for whatever reason.
Surely this is tantamount to going to the mosque to say my prayers when the church is closed? – Yours, etc,
FRANK J BYRNE,
Glasnevin,
Dublin 9.
Sir, – I too have suffered multiple rejections from the Letters Editor in recent times. C’est la guerre. There is one good reason though for not trying my luck with the Irish Independent as suggested (Brian Ahern, July 14th). I don’t read the Irish Independent. – Yours, etc,
RONAN McDERMOTT,
Rathgar,
Dublin 6.
Sir, – Obviously from recent correspondence there are many would-be contributors to your page who are disappointed that their letters are not published. I also have the same experience. I wonder if you, sir, are like my neighbour who has his letterbox leading directly to his open recycle bin. Perhaps a solution is to have an occasional two-page spread for letters to the editor, or have a special section for those long letters with multiple signatures?
Yours, etc,
TONY CORCORAN,
Rathfarnham,
Dublin 14.
Sir, – Like Ben McCabe and Brian Ahern, I too have flirted with other letter pages with my musings, but invariably I always return to my first love.
Even when I’m rejected, for some of my less favourable comments, I know that when I have something good to say I will be listened to.
I am always welcomed back into the fold, or is that the folded one, no matter what I have done. – Yours, etc,
John Bergin,
Wirral,
England.
