My question is in respect of the blueprint for maternity services in Ireland, to which the Government is committed. Ireland has one of the lowest breast-feeding rates by new mothers-----

Is this in respect of promised legislation?

It is in respect of the maternity strategy that the Government has published and supported. A key part of that strategy is supporting the expansion of breast-feeding by new mothers. I was both disappointed and shocked at the withdrawal of funding from the baby-friendly health initiative, which is supported by the UN and the World Health Organization, WHO, and which involves going into hospitals and supporting women who have given birth to breast-feed their babies. It was receiving budgetary support from the HSE of €50,000 a year and was a key part of the strategy. I and an awful lot of other people are shocked to find that the HSE has now arbitrarily axed all of the funding to the point at which the initiative, which was internationally supported, has closed down.

This is not on promised legislation. The Deputy has colleagues waiting to speak.

It was receiving budgetary support of €50,000 a year from the HSE.

On promised legislation-----

It was a key part of the strategy that was laid out.

Some of the others-----

Like many other people, I was shocked-----

This is a Second Stage speech.

-----to find that the HSE has arbitrarily axed all of the funding to the point where this internationally supported initiative has closed down.

The Deputy's colleagues-----

This is very important.

Okay. What promised legislation is the Deputy talking about?

I am talking about the maternal health strategy, which-----

The Deputy is talking about a strategy.

-----is part of the programme for Government.

If the question relates to promised legislation or to the programme for Government, the Minister can answer it.

It is a key part of the programme for Government.

Obviously, there is a maternity strategy as part of the Holles Street move and the construction of a new national maternity hospital. The Government and the HSE strongly support the principle that mothers should breast-feed their children. We have strategies to support that. I do not know of every individual programme that might be involved, but I know each of them is scrutinised every year to see whether it represents the best option for promoting this shared objective. I am sure there are actions. If the Deputy tables a parliamentary question, the Minister will be in a position to respond.

This was the only internationally monitored programme we had.