INO blames lack of midwives for looming maternity crisis

The Irish Nurses' Organisation (INO) has blamed a shortage of midwives in the health service for the looming crisis in Irish maternity hospitals.

Maternity hospitals in Limerick, Dublin and Tralee have all warned that their services are under unacceptable strain due to growing birth rates.

The National Maternity Hospital in Dublin has said it may limit future deliveries due to a lack of space, while Limerick Regional Maternity Hospital has issued a similar warning due to a shortage of consultants.

INO general secretary Liam Doran, however, said the real problem was a lack of midwives.

"The INO has been saying for almost three years that the country is short of midwives and what we're hearing in recent days is just a manifestation of that," he said.

"We have to train more midwives. We have to retain more midwives and, in the short term, that has to be done by paying [them] more so that more numbers migrate into that area."