Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí (Atógáil) - Leaders' Questions (Resumed)
Dail Éireann — 2026-06-09
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Holly Cairns (SD), Cork South-West

A lot of questions have been raised about our maternity services in recent weeks and there appears to be confusion about a hugely important issue. Which category of patient deserves continuity of care in our maternity services? Can I be absolutely clear about what I thought was obvious? Every woman accessing maternity services should be entitled to the highest quality care. It should not be an optional extra reserved for those who can pay for it. Public maternity services should not feel less safe than going private.
However, that is very much the feeling people have been left with because that is exactly what the master of the Rotunda said. He said the reason the hospital was breaching the public-only consultant contract by allowing consultants on that contract to treat private patients was "safety for women". He has not withdrawn that statement but in an interview with David McCullagh earlier, he attempted to clarify it. He said "nobody is saying it is about safety" even though that is literally what he said.
He went on to say that having consultants treating private patients at the Rotunda improved safety for public patients because if they happened to be around when a public patient needed consultant care, they could potentially pitch in. I cannot have been the only person listening to that interview in complete disbelief. Are we really saying that safety for public patients in maternity hospitals now depends on blind luck, in that if they happen to be giving birth when a consultant is on site with a private patient, then they will be taken care of? This is the type of two-tier care that the head of the busiest maternity hospital in the country is fighting for.
The Social Democrats fully supported the approach the Minister for Health took in relation to the Rotunda but this controversy has exposed deep flaws in our maternity services and the so-called choices that are available to women. The choice that is only available to women who can afford to pay for it is not a choice at all. What woman is choosing not to have continuity of care? Every woman should have that. It is the bare minimum we should expect in our public system and that is what the Government's national maternity strategy is supposed to deliver. The focus now needs to be on delivering this for all women in maternity services.
With regard to the particular consultant, will their previous patients be refunded? Are the eight current patients aware of the situation they are in? Does the Rotunda's statement draw a line under this for the Taoiseach, or is he aware of further concerns about the operation of public-only contracts in our hospitals?

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-06-09/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-14T01:01:05+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-06-09