Seanad Éireann debate -
Thursday, 29 Oct 2009

Vol. 197 No. 10

Crisis Pregnancy Services.

Senator Nicky McFadden

I welcome the Minister of State and thank him for taking this very important issue. I wish to outline the work of the Crisis Pregnancy Agency. Its objectives are the reduction in the number of crisis pregnancies by the provision of education in awareness and contraception services; the reduction in the number of women with crisis pregnancies who opt for abortion by offering services and supports that make other options more attractive; and the provision of counselling and medical services to provide support for the women who have opted for abortion and for their partners and families.

The Acting Chairman is familiar with Portiuncula Hospital in Ballinasloe. On 14 October the Minister announced that under the Government's programme of rationalisation, the Crisis Pregnancy Agency is to be subsumed into the black hole that is the HSE. That causes me grave concern. The current service level agreement will expire in June 2010. This service has been operating for six years and has been successfully funded by the Crisis Pregnancy Agency in association with the HSE. It offers services to very many women. It is has been a vital service, with an estimated 700 accessing it since its establishment. It offers pregnancy counselling by a professional social worker who can provide information regarding all the available options, social welfare benefits and other rights and entitlements. Help is also available in terms of arranging accommodation for young mothers who require it and offering support to partners. The service at Portiuncula Hospital covers Galway, Roscommon, Longford, Westmeath, north Tipperary and Offaly. The Crisis Pregnancy Agency rents a room adjacent to the hospital from which the small number of staff provide a very comprehensive service.

I seek an assurance from the Minister of State that this vital service will be safeguarded. I am greatly concerned at the prospect of any such important facility being subsumed into the Health Service Executive. In the Athlone-Mullingar region, for example, 50 beds previously dedicated to care of the elderly were taken out of the system at the stroke of a pen. We cannot afford to do without the crisis pregnancy service at Portiuncula Hospital. It would be foolhardy to contemplate such a reversal in view of the significant reduction in the number of teenage pregnancies in the wake of the awareness campaign run by the Crisis Pregnancy Agency. I appeal to the Minister of State to respond favourably rather than offering the usual trite response.

Deputy Trevor Sargent

Perish the day that I would give a trite reply.

Senator Nicky McFadden

My comment was not directed personally at the Minister of State but was a reference to the trite responses one tends to receive from the Health Service Executive.

Deputy Trevor Sargent

I am taking this Adjournment matter on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Harney, who I met yesterday to discuss this and other issues. I thank the Senator for raising this issue as it affords me an opportunity to highlight the important work done by the Crisis Pregnancy Agency to ensure crisis pregnancy counselling is available free of charge to any woman who needs it. That counselling allows women a safe space in which to discuss and assess their circumstances and choices and supports them in making an informed decision. Improving access to and delivery of crisis pregnancy counselling services and post-abortion medical and counselling services is one of the strategic objectives set out in the agency's current strategy, which covers the period from 2007 to 2011. Easy access and consistently high standards are also priorities. The agency funds a broad range of organisations to provide such services.

The crisis pregnancy service at Portiuncula Hospital in Ballinasloe to which the Senator refers is one such service, the agency funding for which commenced in 2003. The CPA's current three-year service level agreement at the hospital is due to end on 30 June 2010. This excellent crisis pregnancy counselling service provides a model of care that is delivered both on site at Portiuncula Hospital as part of the hospital's maternity service and through a local outreach service in Ballinasloe which is located in a general practitioner practice. The service sees clients from a broad catchment area in the west and has a flexible model of service delivery, which is essential in rural areas. The grant assistance provided by the agency is for the post of a full-time social worker and part-time administrator in addition to providing support with training and supervision as well as overheads associated with the service.

Under the terms of the agency's service level agreement, it is contracted to provide funding of €124,800 per annum to the service in Ballinasloe. It is specified in the agency's funding criteria, terms and conditions, as approved by the Minister, that this funding is dependent on the availability of resources to the agency. The amount of funding provided for the service in 2009 was reduced by 2.3% in response to the requirement to make savings in the public interest. The agency has also worked in partnership with the Ballinasloe service in the commissioning of research into the area of concealed pregnancy, which is one of the many complex issues the service encounters day to day. The service was also involved in the development of concealed pregnancy guidelines by the agency for use in maternity settings. These guidelines have now been disseminated to maternity hospitals throughout the State to assist in the delivery of appropriate care to clients presenting with concealed pregnancies. The service is represented on the course advisory board of the National University of Ireland's certificate in crisis pregnancy counselling skills which is funded by the agency. In addition to supporting the delivery of the service, the agency has supported the continuing professional development of its staff and has funded the participation of the services' social worker in the NUI certificate.

The Crisis Pregnancy Agency is due to be merged within the Health Service Executive on 1 January 2010 as part of the Government programme of rationalisation of agencies and, under legislation, liabilities under existing contracts will also transfer as part of the merger. Given that the agency is coming to the end of a three-year funding cycle in mid-2010, it is due to commence negotiations with all existing service providers in the first quarter of 2010 with a view to agreeing new three-year agreements for ongoing services from 1 July 2010. It is expected that a large majority of providers will be offered such a contract. The matter will become clearer once the Estimates for 2010 are determined and decisions made in regard to the allocations for health agencies.

I assure the Senator that the important work which the Crisis Pregnancy Agency carries out will continue. There are several factors which will ensure this happens. The Health Service Executive already has statutory powers under the Health Act 2004 which allows it to fund service providers of health and personal social services. Part 6 of the Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2009 specifies the functions of the Crisis Pregnancy Agency which are to transfer to the executive. Plans for the integration of the agency into the executive and for the continuation of its work within HSE structures are being progressed by the Department of Health and Children, the HSE and the agency and are well advanced. The Minister wishes to assure the House of her ongoing commitment to the funding of crisis pregnancy services.

Senator Nicky McFadden

I thank the Minister of State for his comprehensive reply. I am acutely aware and appreciative of the support of the Minister, Deputy Harney, for the Crisis Pregnancy Agency. However, I am concerned by the following statement in the Minister of State's reply:

It is expected that a large majority of providers will be offered such a contract. The matter will become clearer once the Estimates for 2010 are determined and decisions made in regard to the allocations for health agencies.

I seek a guarantee that the service at Portiuncula Hospital will be maintained. Will the Minister of State seek a definitive response from the Minister in this regard? I also ask him to convey my sincere thanks to the Minister for this otherwise reassuring reply. I acknowledge the work that is being done in regard to concealed pregnancies, which is a very worthwhile exercise, and the extraordinary work done by CURA.

Deputy Trevor Sargent

I take on board the Senator's comments and will directly convey to the Minister the great importance of the Crisis Pregnancy Agency unit at Portiuncula Hospital. As much as I would like to offer a definitive reply in this regard, it is not possible to do so in advance of the Estimates. However, I have no doubt that due consideration will be given, in assigning budgetary priorities, to the excellence of that service. I can say no more for now other than to assure Senator McFadden that I will make the Minister, Deputy Harney, aware of the Senator's views on the matter and will convey her appreciation of the Minister's work in this area.

The Seanad adjourned at 4.20 p.m. until 2.30 p.m on Tuesday, 3 November 2009.