Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Yesterday, the Minister for Health told reporters that maternity services may be closed at a number of smaller hospitals. He said this against the backdrop of his visit to Portlaoise and his meeting with bereaved parents who tragically lost newborns there in recent years. This follows his announcement last week of the establishment of a steering group to advise on the development of a national maternity strategy, which is to report by the end of the year. Irrespective of our political views in the House, we are all deeply concerned at the series of tragic outcomes at a number of maternity units across the State, including at Portlaoise and at Cavan in my constituency. Our thoughts are with the grieving parents and their families. We all want to know the full facts as to why these distressing events took place and what must now be done to ensure as far as humanly possible that there are no further such incidents.

I must ask the following in the context of what the Minister for Health said yesterday and repeated this morning at the Joint Committee on Health and Children. It is fuelling further concern and distress at a time when we clearly have not yet got the report of the new steering group. The Minister is being pre-emptive in suggesting the closure of any number of maternity units. Will the Tánaiste undertake to ensure that these sad, tragic and distressing outcomes are not employed to serve a programme of closures which is a long-standing objective of some within our health services? On foot of her position in government, will the Tánaiste ensure instead that all appropriate measures to address the deficiencies and needs identified out of all the reports, some of which have yet to be presented including the one on the Cavan incidents, are acted on or introduced?

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