Ciarán Cuffe
Ceist:491 Mr. Cuffe asked the Minister for Health and Children the comparative figures for the cost incurred by the State in facilitating births under the domino scheme, in hospitals and at home. [25412/03]
Written Answers. - Home Birth Service.
The home birth pilot projects, to which the Deputy refers, have their origin in the report of the maternity and infant care scheme review group which was published in 1994. Following the publication of this report, the chief executive officers of the health boards established an expert group to consider approaches to providing a home birth service as suggested by the review group.
The expert group recommended the following three pilot projects which were subsequently established and funded by my Department: a community midwifery service, conducted in Cork by the Southern Health Board; a hospital outreach approach conducted by the Western Health Board and based at University College Hospital, Galway; a DOMINO-outreach project, domiciliary care in and out of hospital, based at the National Maternity Hospital, Holles Street.
The information sought by the Deputy regarding the comparative costs of facilitating births under these schemes, in hospitals and at home is not readily available. My Department has therefore written to the chief executive officers of the Southern and Western Health Boards, and the regional chief executive of the Eastern Regional Health Authority to request the relevant figures. This information will be forwarded to the Deputy as soon as it is received.