Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy can read into that what he wants. It will be made available very shortly. Let us wait until we have the report before we get into operational and legislative recommendations.

Regardless of the report, which is a good one, the core focus for me and the HSE concerning the provision of services is increasing the number of maternity hospitals that are providing services. That only 11 of our 19 maternity hospitals are currently providing services is totally and utterly unacceptable. Therefore, I am working very closely with the HSE right now to increase the number from 11 to 17 this year. The plan for early next year is to increase it from 17 to 19.

There are a little over 400 GPs in the country providing services. The number has gone up by a lot, or by half, in recent times, but we want to ensure there is as much access as possible. Regardless of anything in the report, that is where much of my focus is this year.

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