Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation Dail Éireann — 2025-07-10 ============================================================ Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (FG), Dún Laoghaire I thank the Deputy for her question. This concern is specific to Portiuncula, which demonstrated a much higher than expected rate of requirement for Caesarean sections and cooling of the baby. This was a specific issue. All of the recommendations of the Walker report were implemented. There has been a 100% increase in the number of obstetric consultants and a 25% increase in the number of midwives at Portiuncula. The report has been implemented and increased resources were provided yet there is still a problem. We have to respond to that problem from a patient safety perspective. High-risk pregnancies are being moved to Galway. I have visited the maternity unit in Galway. I know what the Deputy means. I am seeking significant capital funding to transform Galway hospital, including the maternity unit, and to make sure the resources are available in the longer term as well. --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2025-07-10/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-27T06:54:47+00:00 Sitting date: 2025-07-10