Portiuncula concerns aired at Dáil Committee
Concerns regarding maternity services at Portiuncula University Hospital have been advanced to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health following consideration by the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Petitions and the Ombudsman, which met at Leinster House recently.
The Petitions Committee also recommended that the Portiuncula Maternity Alliance (PMA) be offered the opportunity to present its concerns at an oral hearing before the Health Committee, bringing the issue into detailed national parliamentary scrutiny.
The petition was lodged on behalf of the Portiuncula Maternity Alliance by Ballinasloe Cllr Evelyn Parsons, ensuring that the concerns of families and communities served by Portiuncula University Hospital were formally entered into the parliamentary record.
The meeting was chaired by Galway East Deputy Albert Dolan, who was himself born at Portiuncula University Hospital, reflecting the strong connection many families across the region have with the hospital.
Galway Deputies Martin Daly and Louis O’Hara also addressed the Committee, highlighting what Cllr Parsons called the broad cross-party concern surrounding the future of maternity services at Portiuncula.
The issue generated significant public mobilisation following the announcement of changes to the maternity service in July 2025, when more than 15,000 people signed a public petition and approximately 3,500 people marched through the streets of Ballinasloe in August calling for the protection of maternity services at the hospital.
The Portiuncula Maternity Alliance has consistently raised concerns about changes which broadened the category of higher-risk maternity care. As a result, a proportion of women who would previously have received their maternity care at Portiuncula are now being directed to other hospitals.
The PMA said the forthcoming Joint Oireachtas Health Committee engagement will provide an opportunity for the voices of mothers and families to be heard and for the public to see clearly the significance and importance of the issues involved, particularly for the large rural population served by Portiuncula University Hospital across eight counties in the west and midlands of Ireland.
The consideration of this petition at Leinster House is an important step in ensuring that the concerns of families and communities who rely on Portiuncula University Hospital are examined openly and transparently
The PMA noted that the National Maternity Strategy is currently under review, and said the issues raised in relation to Portiuncula therefore have national importance at a time when the future structure of maternity services across the country is being considered.
Ireland has 19 maternity units, including 11 smaller maternity units like Portiuncula University Hospital, and the Alliance said developments affecting one such unit may set an important precedent for how maternity services in similar hospitals are supported and protected across the country.
“The consideration of this petition at Leinster House is an important step in ensuring that the concerns of families and communities who rely on Portiuncula University Hospital are examined openly and transparently,” said Cllr Parsons.
“Portiuncula provides maternity care for families across eight counties, and developments affecting services there may set an important precedent for other smaller maternity units serving large rural populations across the country,” she added.
Dr Kevin Connolly, Chair of the Portiuncula Maternity Alliance, described it as ‘an important opportunity for the voices of parents, families and communities who rely on Portiuncula University Hospital to be heard at parliamentary level’.
The PMA community welcomed the fact that the hearing would provide an opportunity to examine the impact of the changes on families across the region and to set out the pathway for the safe restoration and future protection of maternity services at Portiuncula University Hospital.
Families across the west and midlands will closely monitor the upcoming Health Committee engagement.