The Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly has announced €2 million in new development funding for the continued implementation of the National Maternity Strategy in 2025, with a full-year cost of €4 million in 2026.
The National Maternity Strategy aims to deliver safe, woman-centred maternity services to provide improved choice for women nationwide.
The new funding under Budget 2025 will provide for:
- 47 additional full time specialist staff to increase national coverage of new genetics and postnatal support services, as well as to drive improvements in maternity research and clinical practice.
- €0.9 million to open four new Postnatal Hubs, to provide more women with access to postnatal care in the community.
- €0.5 million for additional specialist midwives.
- €0.3 million to recruit five additional genetic counsellors and three supporting staff, to expand the new National Perinatal Genomics Service.
- €0.3 million to drive improvements in our maternity services through research, audit and new clinical guidelines.
Minister Donnelly said:
“Improving women’s healthcare is a priority for me and for this Government. I am determined that Budget 2025 funding will build on the significant progress already made to date in the development and improvement of maternity services for women, babies and families.
“Since the launch of the National Maternity Strategy in 2016, our maternity services have undergone significant reform, including the recruitment of over 500 additional full-time staff, implementation of a new Model of Care, the establishment of six maternity networks and a National Home Birth Service as well as specialist supports including bereavement teams and lactation specialists in all maternity services.
“The National Maternity Experience Survey has shown us that improving postnatal care in the community is a priority for women. That is why, since 2022, I have directed significant investment into the establishment of a national network of Postnatal Hubs that provide essential care for women in the community in the weeks after birth. Budget 2025 will provide an additional four Hubs, bringing the national network to 13. I know from women who have attended this service how much they value the additional support, including hotlines, birth reflections, and physiotherapy.
“Budget 2025 funding will also provide for the delivery of our National Perinatal Genomics service, funding five additional genetic counsellors in order to improve women’s access to critical genetic testing and support.
“These improvements are part of an ongoing evolution in the provision of women’s healthcare in Ireland and I am committed to continuing this work to drive further reforms.”
Director of the National Women and Infants Health Programme Kilian McGrane said:
“This is very welcome additional investment for the implementation of the National Maternity Strategy. This investment in 2025 and 2026 will ensure that the recommendations around research and audit, rollout out of the framework for perinatal genetics, with counsellors to support the consultant geneticists; further expansion of postnatal hubs, providing important wraparound care to women and babies in the early phase after they are discharged from hospital; and critically additional investment for specialist midwives for areas such as epilepsy and recurrent miscarriage can be further advanced.”