Mark Ward (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

We could hear the passion and the love the witnesses have for their jobs and I thank them. Any criticism I have is what they have highlighted in relation to what is missing. One can see that the perinatal service is almost there.

With a bit of tweaking, political will and more resources, we could be world leaders in this area. The in-patient facility, the mother and baby unit that was mentioned, is the missing piece.

I will focus on the bricks and mortar of that and see where we are in that process. I was doing some research and I came across comments attributed to Dr. Niazi in April saying the development of the perinatal unit is definitely not in the HSE plan for 2022. He said that the main obstacle standing in the way of progressing the plans was choosing between one of two sites in St. Vincent's Hospital in Dublin. What is happening with that at the moment? That is my first question.