Clare Daly (Dublin North, Socialist Party)

I agree with Deputy Ó Caoláin. This legislation is very important and will define maternity services for coming decades. Midwives are not nurses but form part of a separate profession which is in crisis. There is a belief that midwives have been seriously undermined and they have advocated a view, which I support, that they need a powerful midwives' committee. The Minister's amendment does not achieve this, and to say that midwives' opinions would be considered is meaningless. There is no obligation to take heed of the opinions or pay any attention to considerations. That is merely an obligation to listen to the midwives before proceeding.

We need a binding role for a strong midwives' committee. Many midwives are leaving the profession and it is in crisis, as Deputy Ó Caoláin noted. There is a crisis in maternity hospitals because of a severe shortage of midwives in Dublin, who are delivering a far greater number of babies than at any time before. This involves danger for staff, as well as for the women, their partners and their children. We should take heed of international experience. Modern midwifery legislation in New Zealand, Canada and so on is more reflective of the type of approach proposed in amendment No. 8 and goes against that encapsulated in No. 7. We should ensure that people have access to safer, more accessible services - which, in this era of austerity and cutbacks, can be demonstrated to be much more cost-effective and safer for the women and for their children.

Community midwifery services should be promoted. It is worrying that smaller maternity units, particularly in rural areas, are closing, which will leave thousands of women without access to proper community-based midwifery services. A key aspect in any effort to stop the rot and restore respect to one of the oldest female professions is to give this profession, as every other medical profession has, the right to govern itself. This is important and will have implications for women over the coming decades. Because of this, we should not just give a nod to the opinions of the people in this profession but should be bound by them.

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