Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Chairman and the witnesses for giving of their time, expertise and vision. I think I have mentioned before that interaction between medical practitioners and mainstream politicians has not taken place for some years. As I have said many times, I was a member of the former Eastern Health Board. Questions were raised at health board meetings and responses were expected but that has not been happening in terms of the general debate that should be taking place around medical services.

Data protection was mentioned but to what extent does it impede or assist the delivery of maternity services? Maybe the witnesses could give an example. I will not go over the question raised by my colleague on dietary advice during pregnancy but it is hugely important and plays a vital contribution that is underestimated. In a previous existence, much more emphasis seemed to be placed on that particular element.

What do the witnesses believe needs to be done in terms of the implementation of the national maternity strategy?

Another issue that has been raised many times is the attractiveness of the medical profession at GP and consultant level and so on. We heard earlier about a post that was advertised in respect of which only one application was received. If that is the case there is something seriously wrong in terms of what we are doing that needs to be addressed urgently. We need to look at the reasons a position may be unattractive. For example, is it because the impression among the public is that the quality of services in a particular area are poor by virtue of reputation or incidents that have occurred that could have been avoided if different practices were followed? I am aware of a number of vacant GP posts in my own area in respect of which only one or no applications were received. Nobody wants to apply for a position that is deemed to be unattractive. Who would want to apply for a job that is going to be abolished, for example? Who would want to become involved in the delivery of services that previously have been so deficient that the life of a patient was put at risk? I would welcome a response from the witnesses to those questions.

The GP service is crucial to every person in the country. It is a service that we all have to avail of at some point in our lives. It is important that we establish the fundamentals of what we need to do now taking into account the budgetary position we are in. If we do not address this problem now we will still be talking about it five years down the road. We need to address why particular positions are so unattractive otherwise the problems we are experiencing now will be multiplied, with serious consequences.

It was mentioned that there are only three part-time peri-natal psychiatrists in the Dublin area. It is important that is brought to the attention of the Minister at the earliest opportunity. We are all aware of the tragic events that have occurred. Following any event, there is always much talk about things should be done differently. I am sure that our experts are in a better position than anybody else to set out five initiatives that if implemented could have a dramatic impact in terms of the elimination of the type of tragic events that have occurred over the past number of years. It is a long time since there have been babies in my household but I come from a family which during my childhood had many tragic experiences.