Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am asked about this regularly. We really need to hear completely and unequivocally that the hospital will operate free from any non-medical interference. During the campaign for the repeal of the eighth amendment, there was much discussion about women's health and healthcare needs. This was very welcome but the fine words contrast with the lived experience of women who use our maternity services. The standards of care fall well below those which women should be entitled to expect. The postcode lottery is not acceptable and there is no reason an expectant mother in Mayo or Laois or anywhere else should expect to get less from the maternity services than an expectant mam in Cork, Dublin or Waterford. We have a strategy. We need funding and a commitment that the strategy will be implemented. Women and babies deserve much more than fine words.

To be a bit parochial for a moment, the Rotunda Hospital is back in the headlines. It is a fantastic hospital and many of the babies in my constituency travelled there to be born but it is an old building.

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