Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

We are all very glad to see lovely new little babies coming into this world, and not just in Clonmel and County Tipperary but in County Kerry and the rest of the country as well.

The motion we are discussing concerns a serious issue and I have been inundated with communication regarding partners not being allowed into scans. It is still an issue. I was grateful to the Minister for Health and the Department for making the HSE write to the State's 19 maternity hospitals telling them it was time to lift the restrictions on partners visiting. Unfortunately, that directive was not complied with.

We have to be respectful to the management in hospitals and maternity units. I am sure they think what they are doing is for the best but, at the end of the day, there are partners who want and need to attend. It is a very special time. It can be an upsetting time or a happy time. Some scans are critical, when little or big difficulties might arise and it is so important that people are there to support each other. For once and for all, I want to see the hospitals complying with the requirement to treat partners properly and give them the opportunity to be with the person who is having a baby.

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