Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail)
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1274. To ask the Minister for Health the funding set aside for the maternity strategy in 2019; the amount provided for this purpose in each year since 2016; the amount drawn down and used in each year to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36454/19]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Implementation of the National Maternity Strategy is continuing, led by the HSE National Women and Infants Health Programme. The Strategy represents a significant development in the delivery of national maternity policy that will fundamentally change how maternity care is delivered in this country. Funding allocated to-date for the Strategy’s implementation has helped to improve the quality and safety of our maternity services through the recruitment of additional midwives, consultants, theatre staff, ultrasonographers and quality and safety managers, by increasing access to routine anomaly scanning and through the roll-out of the Maternal and Newborn Clinical Management System.

In 2019, an additional €4.1 million was allocated to support the ongoing implementation of the Strategy.

In relation to your specific query on how funding was used on an annual basis, I have asked the HSE to reply to you directly.