INHA Baby Loss Policy & Action
Oireachtas briefing paper
Baby loss is not an uncommon occurrence . The latest figures (2017) show that in Ireland 381 babies died. Stillbirths accounted for 235, early neonatal death accounted for 111 and late neonatal deaths accounted for 35.
Click here to access our INHA Oireachtas Briefing Paper – baby loss
We need your help
One of our key campaigns in 2021 is to highlight the importance of waiving the fee for a burial plot where a baby will be buried and the introduction of a Children’s Burial Fund. Find out more below about how you can help us achieve this goal.
The campaign: The cost of baby loss
The death of a baby is something that parents are often emotionally and financially unprepared for. Many bereaved parents rely on the generosity of friends and family or take out a bank loan to pay for their baby’s burial or cremation and funeral. In the darkest moment of a bereaved parent’s life, they should not have to endure the financial burden of meeting funeral costs.
The INHA would like to commend Kildare County Council for introducing a policy to waiver the fee for a single burial plot where a baby under 18 months old will be buried. If parents choose to purchase a family plot for their baby, the plot fee will be equally reduced. Alternatively, if parents choose to bury their baby in an “angels” plot, the council will also waive the fee.
Our asks
- The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage must instruct all local authorities to introduce the same policy as Kildare County Council as a best practice standard.
- The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage must instruct all local authorities to waive the fees for planning permission for headstones, where a baby will be buried.
- A Children’s Burial Fund should be established by the Department of Social Protection so that local authorities can claim back the cost of waiving the fee for a burial plot where a baby will be buried.
How you can help
Below is a letter template outlining the importance of waiving the fee for the burial plot where a baby will be buried and the introduction of a Children’s Burial Fund. You can send this letter directly to your local councillor.
Click here to download our Baby Loss Template Letter
If you have any queries please email us at info@inha.ie.
Submissions made to the public consultation process
We make submissions to various public consultations, lobbying for the needs of bereaved parents.
Recent consultations we have responded to include:
- Review of the Quality Framework for Mental Health Services in Ireland
- Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth Public Consultation on the Development of a National Model of Parenting Support Services. Click here to read the submission document
- The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment public consultation on the introduction of a Statutory Sick Pay scheme. Click here to read the submission document
INHA Pre-budget submission
The INHA has issued its Pre-Budget 2022 Submission to Government. Our asks of the Government include:
- Funding for unlimited access to breast pumps for all mothers with an infant in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit,
- Availability of dedicated allied healthcare professionals to Neonatal Intensive Care Units for premature and sick babies
- Provision of emotional supports in hospital and the community to parents whose baby has died and to parents who experience pre-term birth
- Waiving the fee for a burial plot where a baby will be buried and the introduction of a Children’s Burial Fund,
- Changes to Maternity and Paternity Benefit so that if a baby is born showing no signs of life and has a birthweight of less than 500g and a gestational age at delivery less than 24 weeks, the baby’s parents are entitled to paid leave from their employment.