David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I wish to come back in here because I do not want to be unfair to any of the maternity hospitals involved. It may well be that capacity issues are at work here. Where those exist, they must be addressed, and it is for the Minister for Health and the Department to do that. What I am hearing from the NWCI's opening statement, though, is that only one in ten GPs is providing services, and not all maternity services. We also do not have sufficient linkages between GPs and maternity services, if some maternity hospitals are not providing the service. Therefore, that means there will be delayed access for some women. This is the problem. We must deal with the capacity issues, but if other factors are at work, whether institutional or otherwise, preventing any maternity hospital from providing these services, then that is not on. The provision of these services is provided for under law.

Returning to the opening statement from the IFPA, much of what was dealt with in that, and I do not disagree with it, concerned the restrictive nature of the Act itself, its limitations and the consequent limitations it puts on women accessing services. A review is under way and we had a lengthy discussion with the Minister for Health regarding its nature and extent. There is a concern regarding how extensive the review will be and whether it will lead to recommendations for legislative changes. We must wait and see. Given the IFPA's opening statement, and what we heard in the opening statement of the NWCI, will it be a failure of the review process itself if it does not recommend legislative changes?