Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It is my first time being here when Senator Maria Byrne was present. I congratulate her on her election back to the Seanad and it is great to see her here. I am sorry her contribution was cut short but the debate was guillotined.

I thank the Senators for their time and for the contributions that were made by those who spoke. The quality and emotion of today's debate is indicative of the value we place on women's healthcare and of the critical importance of the new national maternity hospital. I have listened carefully to everything that has been said in today's debate and I thank Senators for their input. Regardless of all the comments that have been made, there is a common denominator that we all see. We all want to see a national maternity hospital built that is co-located on State land and we want to see all services that are required by women, girls and babies provided as soon as possible. There is no ambiguity there and everybody wants to see that.

As I mentioned in my opening statement, we all share the same goals across politics and our health services. The goal is best summed up through the vision of the national maternity strategy, which seeks that:

Women and babies have access to safe, high quality care in a setting that is most appropriate to their needs; women and families are placed at the centre of all services, and are treated with dignity, respect and compassion; parents are supported before, during and after pregnancy to allow them give their child the best possible start in life.

In our efforts to realise this vision, the Government has deliberately placed an enhanced focus on the progressive development of maternity and women’s healthcare in the country. This year, we allocated increased funding of €12 million for the implementation of the national maternity strategy and for the development of gynaecology services. We have, for the first time, provided funding of €5 million to the women’s health fund to build on the excellent work of the women’s health task force. This focus and investment reflect our commitments to promoting women’s health and to improving health outcomes for women and girls across our society. The provision of appropriate environments and facilities is central to ensuring that the services we invest in now continue to deliver for women and babies in the future. However, it is plain to see that the infrastructure of our four remaining stand-alone maternity hospitals cannot provide the proper environment for the delivery of modern maternity care.

The planned move of the National Maternity Hospital is a key project of national importance and will serve as both a flagship and a cornerstone for the development of maternity and women’s health services in the country. It aims to provide a state-of-the-art hospital delivering a full range of services to women and families for years to come, and to ensure the availability of on-site adult acute services for the safety of the women in its care. It is a complex project and many people have spoken about the next steps to be taken. It is important to acknowledge that the national maternity hospital project is unprecedented and inherently complex as we relocate one voluntary hospital on to the campus of another voluntary hospital and into a hospital building owned by the State. While a hospital building using State funds should, ideally, be fully owned and operated by the State, the integral role of public voluntary hospitals in our public healthcare system means that it has been necessary to examine alternative solutions.

I want to put on the record of the House today that the Minister for Health has been clear in saying that he will not bring anything to the Government unless assurances around all legally permissible services that are to be provided in the new national maternity hospital are provided. I fully agree with that and many Senators in this Chamber will know my position on the eighth amendment in 2018, and my position has not changed. However, I categorically state that I believe all services should be provided in the new national maternity hospital as is done in the current hospital building. The safeguarding of the State’s investment must also be affirmed beyond doubt. In that context, the Minister for Health, as he stated, intends to have further engagement with all stakeholders in the national maternity hospital project as we move towards the finalisation of the arrangements.

I would like the Senators to know that many of the concerns they raised were identified at an early stage and have been the subject of significant and protracted discussions over several years. In particular, the issues of governance and clinical independence have been at the core of those discussions, and nothing has been spared to ensure that those concerns are addressed. That is why so much time and effort has gone into developing the draft legal framework, a framework that provides the assurances we need in relation to the hospital’s ability to provide the full range of women’s health services in accordance with the laws and policies of the State.

As I mentioned earlier, issues of governance and ownership are a priority for the Minister and the Government. These matters will continue to be considered in the context of the Minister for Health’s intended engagement with the relevant stakeholders. The bottom line is that the new hospital must, and will, provide the full spectrum of services without any undue influence that could put women’s reproductive healthcare at risk or endanger any woman’s safety. That, as the Minister has strongly stated, is a red line issue for him and for the Government. We must move on as best as we can because too much time has been lost. As many stated, we have been talking about this project for many years. It is important that no further time is lost.

I thank the Members of the House for inviting me to speak on the issue of the new national maternity hospital. The Senators have articulated their concerns very well and I thank them for that. It is obvious that the critical nature of this project is very much appreciated by the Senators, as is the need to ensure the independence of the hospital in its provision of care. In that regard, I assure the Senators that we are very much on the same page and that we share the same vision. The most important thing we can all do now is to try to work together and continue our efforts to ensure we provide this much needed, state-of-the-art facility for the women and babies of this country.