Clare Daly (Dublin North, United Left)
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117. To ask the Minister for Health the steps he proposes to take to overhaul Irish maternity policy which shows increasing reliance on caesarean sections, which is expensive, wasteful, damaging to maternal and foetal outcomes and not in accordance with international best practice. [36500/14]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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My Department is currently developing a new National Maternity Strategy in conjunction with the HSE. This Strategy will determine the future model of services to ensure that women have access to safe, high quality maternity care in a setting most appropriate to their needs. As part of the development of the Strategy, it is proposed to review and evaluate current maternity services. The issue of Caesarian section rates will be considered in that context.