Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I agree 100% with the Deputy that they should be uppermost. We have to acknowledge the risk managers in hospitals, those whose overarching objective is to protect people. We should accept the motivation of all involved which, I surmise, is genuine. Nobody is wilfully doing this. This goes against the very grain of what is natural and normal in such situations.

We need to be fair here. We are politicians who bring back to the Chamber the concerns of the people we represent but we have to balance that with rushing in and ordering or instructing people on the ground who have responsibilities and legal obligations in dealing with the protection of mothers, babies and staff as well. That said, work is under way on this, as I have said, and my understanding is that Dr. Peter McKenna is working on developing a document for a consistent national approach to visitor restrictions in maternity hospitals. People understand the issues here. The important point is to affirm the fundamental principle of not doing harm and protecting all concerned to the optimal degree possible.

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