Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

It is an annual budget of €60 million. At all stages the HSE advised that the hospital would be opened on a phased basis and would be fully operational by the end of this year.

The Cork University Maternity Hospital was due to open last Saturday. Deputy Ó Caoláin is correct in that regard. Some 128 of the 144 beds were ready and due to open on that day. The HSE, consultant staff and the midwifery management were completely satisfied that 128 beds could have safely opened last Saturday, and they are the people to make that decision. There was a major operation put in place to assist the transfer of all women from the existing three maternity hospitals.

The hospital failed to open following a ballot by the INO members last Friday rejecting the Labour Court recommendations. The Labour Court's recommendation 18661 stated that the facility should open as planned on 24 March. The HSE accepted the Labour Court recommendations and the INO cited insufficient staffing as the reason for refusing to move to the new hospital. The HSE has set a new date of 31 March, and remains in daily communications with the midwives due to transfer to the new service. Some 125 beds will transfer from the three maternity hospitals.

Deputy Ó Caoláin stated there were no posts and a lack of staff, and that is not the case. The HSE has created 264 new additional posts of which 146 are midwifery nursing posts for the new Cork University Maternity Hospital. The staffing rate for the hospital is the best in the country, with a 1:23 birth ratio.

When the facility is fully operational, the midwifery nursing complement will be 375. Currently, there is a short-term issue in filling all the posts, but 32 student midwives are expected to graduate after the summer and all of them will be offered employment. The HSE will make up any short-term staffing with overtime and agency midwives.

Midwives and nurses are rostered to attend induction training and orientation in the maternity hospital this week. Some 75 midwives have already attended orientation training.

Those are the facts. Hopefully, this state-of-the-art €75 million facility with 144 beds replacing outdated services will open this weekend.

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