Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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Question 59: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the way she proposes to address the extra demand on maternity services; if resources will be provided to relocate maternity hospitals in Dublin and in Limerick to acute hospital campuses; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34675/10]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Independent)
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The latest information from the HSE for July 2010 indicates that the total number of births nationally is marginally lower than the same period last year (-1%) and is showing a 1.8% decrease against expected levels for 2010. The HSE is putting arrangements in place to progress the recommendations of the HSE/KPMG review of Maternity Services in the Greater Dublin Area including service redesign, workforce needs, clinical governance, teaching, training and physical infrastructure requirements.

Each of the three Dublin maternity hospitals has begun to develop site specific proposals in relation to their proposed location. This process involves working closely with each of their proposed adult hospital sites and in the case of the Rotunda also with the National Paediatric Hospital project. Local project steering groups have been established between the maternity hospitals and their proposed adult sites. The HSE has met with the three Dublin maternity hospitals as a group and emphasised the need for close collaboration across the maternity and acute partner hospitals in preparing the business cases for relocating the existing maternity services. The three draft business cases, prepared by the maternity hospitals are being reviewed by the HSE to identify potential savings that can be yielded from this approach.

In relation to Limerick, the HSE has indicated that its the long-term objective is to re-locate maternity and orthopaedic services to the Dooradoyle site. Discussions are at an early stage with regards to securing capital for this project.