Jim Daly (Cork South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Humphreys for raising this important issue and providing the opportunity to discuss it with the House today.

Increasing the rate of breast-feeding in Ireland is an important national health policy objective and is emphasised in the Healthy Ireland framework, the national maternity strategy for the period 2016 to 2026, the national obesity policy and action plan for the period 2016 to 2025, and the recently published National Cancer Strategy 2017-2026. The baby-friendly hospital initiative was launched by the World Health Organization and the United Nations Children's Fund, UNICEF, in 1991 and is a global effort to implement practices that protect, promote and support breast-feeding. In Ireland, the baby-friendly hospital initiative has been in place for 20 years and nine of the 19 maternity hospitals countrywide have baby-friendly designation.The initiative is funded by the HSE, which in 2016 commissioned a research team at Trinity College Dublin to undertake a review of the initiative. The review, which highlighted a number of issues, recommended the need for a revised model to be developed in line with the maternity strategy and the HSE national breastfeeding action plan 2016-20. A key finding of the Trinity review was that there was no difference in breastfeeding rates in hospitals that had achieved baby friendly designation and those that had not achieved this designation. Following completion of the Trinity review, the HSE initiated engagement with the baby friendly hospital initiative and other stakeholders on developing a revised model. While the HSE has made the decision to pause the existing initiative and it is not being funded for 2017, I understand that funding is available to that group to participate in the process to develop the enhanced model.

The national women and infants programme is actively working with the HSE health and well-being division, the HSE lead midwife and other key stakeholders to address governance and other issues and explore models to support the implementation of the World Health Organization-UNICEF ten steps to successful breastfeeding, which is the basis of the baby friendly hospital initiative. There is ongoing engagement and communication with maternity services and other key stakeholders as part of this work to ensure we have a model suitable for the promotion and

support of breastfeeding in Ireland. This approach will also examine the option of an all-island approach. I support the position of the HSE and I am satisfied that the work to develop a revised model will support the aim to increase breastfeeding rates in Ireland and enable more mothers to breastfeed their babies.