Fiona O'Loughlin (Kildare South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for her personal compassion. I listened to the Minister, Deputy Harris, earlier and, to be honest, I was disappointed with his tone. He was incredibly defensive and used his time to attack the Fianna Fáil Party for using its Private Members' time to highlight what must be done to support women in this country. The Minister of State, Deputy Catherine Byrne, said that even one negative experience in our maternity services is one too many and that it is important to recognise how difficult these events can be for the women and families concerned. I support her statement. Her personal compassion is evident, even if her party's is not.

We are at our most vulnerable when we enter and exit this world, and the women who give birth are at their most vulnerable. It is very important that we put everything we can in place. The current national maternity infrastructure is putting women’s lives and the lives of their babies at risk due to lack of funding and a chronic shortage of midwives. The fact that a mere 3% of the HSE's budget goes on maternity services is a scandal, considering this country's tragic history of maternal deaths. It is important to name those women: Tania McCabe, Evelyn Flanagan, Jennifer Crean, Bimbo Onanuga, Dhara Kivlehan, Nora Hyland, whose wedding I danced at a few years before her death, Savita Halappanavar, Sally Rowlette and Malak Thawley.

Other Members have spoken about the women who called "Liveline". I understand that more than 1,000 calls were received. The testimonies were powerful. We must listen to what women are saying. Fair play to "Liveline" for giving those women the opportunity to add their voices to the debate. That is what we are doing on this side of the House. There were powerful accounts from women who were not listened to, who suffered dreadful pain, many of them for years after giving birth, and who were sent home traumatised by our maternity services. The calls came from women all over the country who had used all of our maternity hospitals.

There is no doubt that our infrastructure is letting women and babies down when they are at their most vulnerable. This infrastructure requires serious review and investment if we are to stop failing mothers and their newborns. What is needed is the new maternity hospital, the ongoing implementation of the 77 recommendations of the national maternity strategy, an audit of the ratio of midwives to women in labour, a plan for the provision of community midwifery services and the provision of alongside birthing units for midwife led care of low risk women in all our maternity hospitals. I note a letter to The Irish Timesfrom the Midwives Association of Ireland last April which referred to the core problem being how and whether women get to make their decisions, supported by the midwives, because there are simply too few midwives.

I could outline the issues in all the maternity hospitals but I do not have the time. Conditions are dire in our maternity hospitals, particularly in Dublin. The Minister, Deputy Harris, has told us there is zero funding allocated in 2019 to even begin moving the Coombe. In 2017 the cost of compensation for errors and mistakes in our maternity units alone was 50% greater than the total funding made available for increasing health service provision in the State. That gives a strong message. When will the Government listen to women and provide them with the services they need and deserve?

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