Marc MacSharry (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I ask the Leader to arrange for the Minister for Health, Deputy Varadkar, to come to the House and debate the future of maternity services in this country. Members will be aware of the sad case of Ms Dhara Kivlehan, who, after giving birth at Sligo Regional Hospital, died in a Belfast hospital. At the inquest last evening, an independent expert obstetrician and former master of the Rotunda stated that it was effectively a systemic and clinical failure that led, in a complex case, to her death.

This is a case that requires a serious review by the State in how it approaches maternity services in the future. It is worth reminding Members of the report we exposed on this side of the House which planned to downgrade maternity services in the north west to the extent that an obstetrician would not be available but that it would be a midwife-led service. Last night underpinned the need for expert obstetrician services to be available to all the women of Ireland regardless of where they live.

At this point, the Minister must make clear his intentions. Clearly, significant investment and additional resources are required to be put into maternity services as Ireland has the lowest number of obstetricians per patient in the OECD. With commitments under the working time directive and the temptation of higher remuneration abroad, it seems fewer obstetrician hours will be made available in Ireland. We are facing a crisis in ensuring further cases such as that of Dhara Kivlehan can be averted. I hope this debate will be held soon as it is merely a matter of time, sadly, that this will happen again. Unless the appropriate resources and strategic plan are put in place, we cannot ensure this will not happen again.