Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation
Dail Éireann — 2022-05-05
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Eamon Ryan (GP), Dublin Bay South

I agree with the point the Deputy is making. Our maternity system is not sufficiently midwife-led. I think it should be. That is why I want to bring back to this debate something I raised earlier concerning how we implement the national midwifery strategy. It points in the direction not of a consultant-led, active management type of system, but, as the Deputy said, to a much more patient-centred and midwife-led system. This encompasses a range of different issues, including the arrangements referred to by the Deputy regarding pool-based systems. Therefore, I agree this is the direction in which we need to go. It is set out and agreed, but it is not being delivered with sufficient speed. We must have a debate and discussion about the nature of our hospitals' structures, etc., but the subject of having a midwife-led system, and its nature, is where this debate and our attention and focus needs go.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2022-05-05/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:50:24+00:00
Sitting date: 2022-05-05