Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I begin by echoing the Minister’s comments regarding the Government’s commitment to the development and improvement of women’s health services. We know the infrastructure of our maternity hospitals leaves much to be desired and that there are deficits in women’s health services, in the choice of experience available to pregnant women, in the availability of mental health supports, physiotherapy, services for endometriosis and menopause, as well as difficulties with gynaecology waiting lists. We know this is the case and there is no point in hiding from that. However, in terms of our commitments to women’s health, we have put our money where our mouth is and have provided the investment needed to see those commitments through.

For example, for the first time since its launch in 2016, we have adequately funded the national maternity strategy. In 2020 just €1.5 million was allocated to implement this strategy. This Government increased that figure to €7.3 million in 2021 and again to €8.6 million in 2022 to ensure a renewed impetus to the implementation of the strategy.

As raised in today’s motion, HIQA’s overview report highlighted a number of areas where work is required to meet the standards. I note in particular the concerns regarding deficiencies in maternity infrastructure. The HSE is working on a plan to address the infrastructural issues across our maternity services and to ensure the physical environment of our hospitals and units are in line with both HIQA’s standards and the vision of the national maternity strategy.

Improving women’s experience of and outcomes in the health service is of course much wider than maternity. As mentioned earlier, €31 million has been provided this year for a range of developments around women’s health. Some of these have already been referred to but they include an additional €5 million for the dedicated women’s health fund and the roll-out of a free contraception scheme for those aged 17 to 25 later this year. In addition, a further €16 million to support women's health is embedded within other new measures for 2022 within the health Vote in areas such as cancer, mental health and social inclusion budgets. In mental health we now have 19 perinatal mental health midwives in place, who are in every maternity hospital in the country. There are 75 staff working in perinatal mental health. I recently met the team in the Rotunda. Some 9,800 women presented to the hospital last year to give birth and 2,000 needed and received the support of the perinatal mental health team. It is a really important initiative.

I have participated in and listened to the intensive debate on this topic over the past two weeks. I am fully confident that there will be no religious ethos at the new national maternity hospital and all legally permissible services will be provided there, as they are in the current hospital at Holles Street, and that the State’s investment in this hospital and the provision of public healthcare services are fully protected.

Following on from the Cabinet’s decision today, let us now is the time to move on towards the delivery of this much-needed new maternity hospital.

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