Joanna Tuffy (Labour)

People are voting for candidates like Deputy Connolly because they want more accessible health care services and because they are unhappy with the present health system.

As Senator O'Meara stated, I will refer specifically to the maternity health services. I had a baby recently and this has really made me conscious of issues concerning babies, children and families. Two days ago, the Minister of State, Deputy Tim O'Malley, awarded Limerick Maternity Hospital a UNICEF and World Health Organisation award, which is part of a programme initiated by the two organisations to promote breastfeeding. I did some research and noticed in a newspaper a reference to the implementation of a ten-point plan in this regard. The World Health Organisation and UNICEF introduced this concept circa 1989 and a number of hospitals in Ireland are trying to implement it. The World Health Organisation and UNICEF assess the implementation of the plan and interview mothers who have been to hospitals to understand their experiences of those hospitals' practices and procedures. Limerick Maternity Hospital must be commended on being the first Irish hospital to receive this award and for faring so well in the assessment procedures.

Breastfeeding should be promoted but should not be pushed on people. The statistics indicate that it helps to reduce the incidence of diabetes and so on. Promoting breastfeeding will reduce diseases in the future and help the health system. I had a good experience in the Coombe maternity hospital, but there is room for improvement in many areas. Hospitals need more resources and the Government needs to be proactive in providing backup for hospitals to provide services. The hospitals are very busy, even though statistically there are fewer births than in previous decades. Given the closure of hospitals and cutbacks in budgets, hospitals are finding it difficult to deliver a service, particularly in supporting new mothers who wish to breastfeed. If they do not wish to do so, they should be helped as much as possible. I hope the Government will do as much as possible to promote this initiative. An official in the Department of Health and Children co-ordinates this policy but perhaps the Government will consider putting in place legislation to deal with the issue. The Limerick maternity unit tried to ensure that a formula would not be advertised by health professionals. This is done on a voluntary basis but perhaps legislation needs to be put in place.

Children require good maternity services in order to get a good start in life. All the supports necessary should be provided for mothers. I do not have the figures for 2004, but the masters of two maternity hospitals in Dublin, the Coombe and Holles Street, indicated that their budget was cut in 2003, which is unsatisfactory. In 2003, the Coombe Hospital had the highest number of births since 1972, when it was encountering Government cutbacks. I hope this policy will not be continued by the Minister of State, Deputy O'Malley, and the new Minister for Health and Children.

The national treatment purchase fund is a Progressive Democrats policy. While it is currently achieving some success, it is not a good long-term policy. It will do nothing to create extra beds, yet is using up valuable resources. If we are to solve the problems in the health service, much more needs to be done in the long term than buying services from the private sector.