Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

I just want to be able to say a few words about this, if I may.

Two issues were raised by the masters of the maternity hospitals and other obstetricians. One was the impact of the fact that up to 60% of women over 16 attending the hospitals — asylum seekers — were pregnant. That creates pressure on the service. There is also the issue of funding. They also raised the issue of what we intended to do about the problem. They did not give me a legislative or constitutional prescription, but they clearly asked about our proposals for dealing with it.

That is the reason for the meetings. They had two concerns, the first had to do with resourcing and the second was what to do about it. They were definitely of the view that the nationality clause was being abused and had facilitated this development. I can give the Deputy an example although I will not go into detail. The real concern related to the complexity of the cases that are arriving, for example, the lateness of the arrival. These cases created additional pressure on resources, not just on the obstetrics unit but on the neonatal units. That is the reality from which we cannot run away. There was one case that was relayed to us in correspondence from an obstetrician in a particular hospital which involved a quintuplet pregnancy. The person arrived 36 hours previously and took serious risks in making a long journey to reach Ireland and to give birth. The consultant told us that the person arrived in a very threatened premature labour situation. It was a scenario that raised serious concerns for the hospital with regard to the safety of the delivery and the fact that the woman placed her own life at risk by making such a long journey. We discussed the issue of carriers and airline responsibility. This is not just a single case. Doctors and nurses spend so much time dealing with such high-risk pregnancies and if the person had gone into labour during the flight the consequences would have been catastrophic.

I met with the masters of the maternity hospitals in December 2002, when they outlined the concerns they had on these issues. Particular concern was expressed for the wellbeing of these patients who were presenting in increasing numbers in these circumstances. We worked with the ERHA and developed the screening unit and outreach maternity clinic in Balseskin, north Dublin, to try to reduce pressure on hospitals in these situations. The Rotunda Hospital has seen non-national births increase from approximately 350 in 1998 to 1,951 in 2003. Non-national births accounted for over 29% of all births at the hospital in 2003. At the Coombe Women's Hospital, non-national births have increased from 61 in 1999 to 1,709 in 2003. Non-national births accounted for 22% of all births at the hospital in 2003.

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