Colm Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for a comprehensive presentation. Has the information campaign been planned already and what form will it take? One of the major contacts in healthcare is the GP service. Is there a format set out for how the information will be disseminated? I was surprised, a number of years ago, to learn that maternity hospitals do not seek identification from their patients. A person can check into a maternity hospital under an assumed name.

I have heard of instances when that has occurred. My understanding is that, to date, maternity hospitals still do not have a strict and common code across all 19 maternity units nationally regarding proof of identity being furnished. Going back over the years, it was an issue that some adoptions took place via informal arrangements. I wonder if that issue has been examined. I heard that as recently as the last six months that someone was in a hospital where a patient had two or three medical cards under different names. Ensuring that proper identification is furnished in maternity units is also going to be an issue when we have people coming in from abroad. Has that issue ever been looked at? It was an issue I remember having to deal with quite a number of years ago and things do not seem to have changed in any way.