Minister confident in labour guidelines after former master criticism
By Cillian Sherlock, Press Association
The Health Minister has expressed confidence in Irish maternity care after a former leading consultant criticised guidelines.
Dr Peter Boylan, the former master of the National Maternity Hospital, recently expressed “grave concerns” in The Irish Times about the National Clinical Practice Guidelines on labour.
Commenting on guidelines relating to the early stages of labour, he said the concept of the “latent phase” of labour, which he said was the approach that a woman is not in established labour until her cervix is 4cm dilated, was “highly dangerous”.
The current National Maternity Strategy expires this year and a consultation process for the next 10 years is expected to open within months.
Asked if she wanted to see Dr Boylan’s concerns examined in that process, Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill said: “I have every respect for every retired consultant, as I have every retired minister, every retired taoiseach, but the people who I take advice from are the clinical leads of the day.
“And Cliona Murphy is doing a fantastic, fantastic job as the clinical director of the Women and Infants programme, and I look forward to seeing her recommendations as we move into the next national maternity strategy for the future.”
She said women were being provided a “a much better” and “more transparent” service than 10 years ago.
“We have 19 maternity units, all of their outcomes are available on the internet to be able to track, monitor, watch.
“We have a very, very high standard of care.
“We have very few events that have poor outcomes, they’re exceptionally serious when they do happen, but there are much fewer events than would have been the case, and I have real confidence in the clinicians of today to deliver for the women of today.”
Carroll MacNeill said the Department is currently evaluating the previous 10-year strategy but said there had been “huge progress” in maternity care.
“I gave birth in 2015 and it is a different landscape in terms of the care and the focus of women, putting women at the centre of their own advocacy, putting women at the centre of their experience.”
Carroll MacNeill was speaking to reporters at the launch of the Third National Women’s Health Action Plan (2026–2027) at Tallaght University Hospital.
After visiting the hospital’s endometriosis hub, she said: “The hub reflects our strong commitment to improving care for women and girls with this condition.
“The development of specialist endometriosis services represents a fundamental shift towards earlier diagnosis, more coordinated care and better access to expert treatment.”
The action plan includes the development of a women’s health programme in general practice, enhanced early detection and prevention initiatives for cardiovascular disease in young women, the expansion of specialist multidisciplinary eating disorder teams, and the development of mental health supports for women living with endometriosis.
It also provides for the expansion of the free period products scheme to additional locations, and continued growth in the number of postnatal hubs.
The National Women’s Council welcomed the publication of the plan but called for timelines around expanding free contraception.
Asked about the request, Carroll MacNeill said her department had to make “trade-offs” while also expanding fertility schemes, funding more acute beds, delivering the drug strategy, and free HRT.
“There is a finite amount of money, and we just have to try and get the best cost-effectiveness across the board.”
She said the contraception scheme was originally targeted at “much younger women” on the basis that it was less likely that they could afford it – and added that it has been expanded since.
She said measures had also been taken to reduce the cost by moving towards allowing repeat prescriptions from pharmacists.
