Alex White (Dublin South, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy make the point well. He has raised this issue before. What I said in my reply stands. A maternity strategy will be developed. As I indicated in my concluding remarks, the strategy will address issues, including the issue of appropriate maternity services staffing, and recommend best practice models of care for maternity services in future. That is the position.

The service plan was only furnished to the Minister late yesterday evening. He has three weeks to deal with it. However, I take seriously the observations the Deputy has raised. I am sure the Minister will respond to him as soon as possible following his consideration of the service plan.

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