Written answers
Wednesday, 22 January 2025
Department of Health
Health Services
Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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1320. To ask the Minister for Health the estimated cost of providing three extra postnatal hubs. [46286/24]
Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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The 2022 Women's Health Action Plan and the National Maternity Strategy 2016-2026 call for a coordinated approach to support postnatal women and new babies in the community. The National Maternity Experience Survey has shown that improving postnatal care is a priority for women. Since 2022, significant investment has been directed into piloting and establishing a national network of Postnatal Hubs. Five Hubs are already operational, with four more currently in development. Budget 2025 will provide four more Hubs, bringing the national network to 13.
These Hubs provide essential care for women in the community and closer to home in the weeks after birth. Women who have attended this service have reported how much they value the additional support, including hotlines, birth reflections, and physiotherapy.
To initiate the first two Postnatal Hubs, in 2022 €0.9 million was allocated through the Women's Health Fund. In the same year, this Government provided funding of €8.7 million for the National Maternity Strategy, through which three further Postnatal Hubs were funded. A total of five Postnatal Hubs were open by the end of 2023 in Cork, Kerry, Portiuncula, Sligo and Carlow-Kilkenny. €0.4 million was allocated in 2024 to establish four more Postnatal Hubs, with a full year cost of €1.9 million in 2025. This Government is investing an additional €2.0 million in the National Maternity Strategy in Budget 2025, which includes €0.9 million to open four further Postnatal Hubs.
On this basis, the estimated Full Year Cost to establish three additional Postnatal Hubs would be €1.4 million.
These costs may be subject to inflationary increase. A review is ongoing into the first pilot Postnatal Hubs, which may also have implications for the projected costs in the future.
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