Tom Clonan (Independent)
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I was present at the birth of all five of my children. With Liadain, which was my little girl's name, what really marked it apart from the others was that it was a moment of complete silence. Childbirth is a noisy affair. A man in a delivery suite is a definition of the most useless thing on earth as you are there among midwives and all these amazing women, and it is usually women who do all this work. In Liadain's case, there was complete silence. Her mum carried her to full term, but I had a relationship with her too. I would often feel her kicking and would be thinking about her, and I still do. The reality is that within 24 hours, the mortgage has to be paid, the other kids have to be picked up and dropped off. You have to carry on and pay the bills. Anything that supports parents, families and anybody in such a situation is a positive step.

I hear more of these conversations, where, for example, people have been diagnosed with cancer. There is a growing awareness that such people also have to continue to pay their bills and mortgages, and put on their best faces, bring their young kids to school and drop them off, or care for elderly parents when they are ill themselves, and the fear and trauma of all of that. I commend the Deputy and the Department for the work they are doing to make us a kinder and more supportive society.