Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)

As the Taoiseach will be aware, it will be several months before the full impact of the €750 million in health service cuts will be felt in each area. To date, 1,500 people have left the health service and a further 2,000 are due to leave before the end of February. In anybody's book that is quite an exodus. Of the 1,500 who have left, several hundred were front-line nurses, while 50 were full-time consultants. The Minister for Health has argued that changes to work practices will minimise the impact of the cuts. I am particularly concerned about cuts to maternity services. Is the Taoiseach aware of the concerns expressed by a number of senior medical practitioners about cuts to midwifery services, particularly in the mid-west region in which there is due to be an exodus of 25% of staff in February? Is he aware of the statement made by the senior consultant obstetrician in the region, Dr. Gerry Burke, who said:

No plans to deal with the shortfall have been presented by the HSE or the Department of Health. The shortfall of over 20 per cent of midwifery staff will diminish the quality of maternity care these women and babies receive.

Dr. Burke went on to state some of the women and babies to whom he had referred would pay with their lives. That is a serious assertion to make.

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