Fianna Fáil maternity care hypocrisy – O’Connell

Fine Gael TD, Kate O’Connell, has criticised Fianna Fáil’s hypocrisy on the issue of maternity care. Deputy O’Connell who is a member of the Oireachtas Health Committee was speaking ahead of the Dáil debate on a motion from Fianna Fáil on maternity services.

Deputy O’Connell said: “It is a welcome development that Fianna Fáil has suddenly expressed an interest in maternity care. Their record in Government, and indeed in Opposition, is in stark contrast to their motion tonight.

“Let us not forget this is the party who ignored the X case during its time in Government, ignored the plight of women suffering with symphysiotomy, a party who poured money into roads and stadiums but failed to invest in our maternity hospitals.

“That is just their time in Government. While in opposition, half of the Fianna Fáil party voted against the repeal of the Eighth Amendment and 21 of them voted against giving the people a say in a referendum at all.

“Fine Gael developed Ireland’s first National Maternity Strategy representing a significant development in the delivery of a national maternity policy that has fundamentally changed how maternity care is delivered.

“We have invested €8.5 million in this area, significantly increased the number of staff working in our maternity services, invested in anomaly scanning and provided funding for four maternity hospitals to be rebuilt and relocated,” O’Connell concluded.