Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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388. To ask the Minister for Health the status of the national maternity strategy; the total funding that is to be provided for the strategy; the funding being provided in 2016; and the outputs and services being provided by the funding being provided in 2016. [40944/16]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The National Women and Infants Health Programme will lead the management, organisation and delivery of maternity, gynaecology and neonatal services, across primary, community and acute care, strengthening such services by bringing together work that is currently undertaken across a number of divisions. Work to establish the Programme Leadership Team continues and I understand that an interim Programme Director has been appointed and will start in January.

In leading the implementation of Ireland's first National Maternity Strategy - Creating A Better Future Together 2016 - 2026 - the Programme will draw up a detailed action plan that will inform the full implementation of the Strategy on a phased basis; this work will include the identification of both capital and revenue funding requirements which will in turn inform the annual Estimates process over the lifetime of the Strategy.

Pending the establishment of the Programme, work to facilitate the implementation of the Strategy is ongoing. €3 million development funding provided for maternity services in 2016 has been allocated in line with the Strategy, and includes funding for additional staff, including 100 midwives, for the development of specialist bereavement teams and for the implementation of the Maternal and Newborn Clinical Management System. I have asked the HSE to respond to you directly to provide further detail on these initiatives.

In addition, Professor Michael Turner, National Lead for the Obstetrics and Gynaecology Clinical Programme has been appointed as chair of the Guideline Development Group which will develop National Clinical Guidelines for intrapartum care through the National Clinical Effectiveness Committee.