Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim céad fáilte roimh an Aire. Táim an-sásta go bhfuil deis agam labhairt ar an rún seo.

was We have heard the two sides of the argument but, to be honest, they are the two extremes. The truth is somewhere in the middle and I will outline what I mean. I speak from a certain amount of personal experience of the maternity services in the west because I have five children who were all born with the help of the services. It is important for me to say that my experience of the services, certainly at Galway University Hospital, were always very good. My first child was born under the Domino scheme. It was a fantastic midwifery-led scheme that was axed by a previous Administration, which led to a huge outcry. I favour a midwifery-led type of service but it must be backed up by a full hospital service in case anything goes wrong.

I have issues with the way the hospitals groups have been configured, an issue that I have raised on previous occasions. The initiative has moved us down the route to privatisation and I am very concerned about the type of model proposed. Some of the oversight issues flag my issues with the initiative.

As someone who comes from Galway, the case of Savita Halappanavar focused attention on maternity issues. Many issues have arisen in maternity units around the country. Therefore, it is only right that there is a national review of maternity services and, where issues arise, they must be addressed. I am afraid that I do not agree with some of the things that have happened here. I have attended briefings held by the hospital group on the issue.

It is interesting to note that the Minister mentioned in his statement the procurement issues around the report but he did not say that he fundamentally disagreed with its approach. There are other issues, as mentioned by Senator Ó Domhnaill. One is left wondering why the report was sanctioned if there was an issue with it, what the cost of it was and who was paid for it, etc. However, I prefer to focus on other issues. Also, I noted the statement made by the hospital's chief operating officer who said that they have not recommended or approved reconfiguration of the group. They have not said that they will not do so in the future.

Some of the major issues people have in the west is with the framing of this debate. I do not completely agree with Senator O'Keeffe's comment that all the options were put on the table. That is not the impression of the workers' representatives to whom I have spoken in this debate. They are particularly concerned about the status of Portiuncula Hospital because the report contains six options that relate to the hospital. The first option was to let everything stay as it is, but that has been ruled out by Bill Maher, the chief executive of the hospital group, so the workers' representatives feel that option is no longer available. In their opinion, all the remaining five options recommend a downgrading or closure of the unit in Portiuncula Hospital. They are greatly concerned that all the options have not been put on the table.