3112. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Health if she will review the current primary care model of postnatal maternal support to extend structured clinical and mental health check-ins well beyond the standard single six-week check (details supplied); her plans to ring-fence specific primary care funding to expand the remit of the public health nurse service to explicitly monitor maternal physical and mental recovery in rural communities where local GP access is severely constrained; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [54855/26]

I recognise the importance of support and care during the postnatal period, including access to affordable and timely perinatal mental health supports.  These supports have been the focus of both the National Maternity Strategy and wider maternity service developments, such as Postnatal Hubs, in recent years.

Postnatal Hubs are providing midwife-led support in the community for mothers, babies and families. Each Hub operates between 2-5 community-based clinics in various locations within the catchment of their maternity unit, each set up to respond to the needs of women in their catchment area.

These Hubs provide essential care for women in the community and closer to home in the weeks after birth, and currently there is no nationally defined cut-off  period in which women can access these services. The hubs include a spectrum of health and wellbeing services, including core midwifery care, physiotherapy, lactation and infant feeding support, parent education, bereavement support and birth reflection services.

The first five Postnatal Hubs opened under a pilot scheme in 2023 in Cork, Kerry, Portiuncula, Sligo and Kilkenny.  Each Hub represents a first year investment of approximately €0.5m, with 6-10 additional Whole Time Equivalent (WTE) staff providing the service.

I launched four new Postnatal Hubs on Monday 23rd February 2026, based from the National Maternity Hospital, the Coombe, the Rotunda and Our Lady of Lourdes, Drogheda. Four further Hubs are currently in development in Waterford, Limerick, Cavan and Letterkenny and should be in place by the end of the year.

Public Health Nurses provide post natal support in the community. The HSE introduced a national standardised maternal postnatal guideline for Public Health Nurses and Midwives working in the Public Health Nursing Service in 2022. Maternal assessments are provided at two time points, firstly at the Primary Assessment (72hrs post discharge from maternity service) and at 3 months post-partum. Assessments include both physical and mental health assessments. Where concerns are identified, Public Health Nurses refer women to the appropriate healthcare professional or service, to ensure they receive the care and treatment they need. Additional assessments by the Public Health Nurse can be conducted outside these standardised timeframes as required.

The National Maternity Strategy and Programme for Government 2025 include a range of commitments to ongoing improvements in maternity and perinatal mental health services.

Specialist Perinatal Mental Health Services (SPMHS) are now available in all 19 maternity hospitals nationwide, providing support to pregnant women and women with a baby up to one year old, with a new or existing mental health problem. Funding of €5 million annually has provided for the establishment of 6 consultant led multidisciplinary teams across major maternity hospitals (Coombe, NMH, Rotunda, Galway, Cork, Limerick), and 13 spoke sites staffed by perinatal mental health midwife posts. There are now over 75 funded posts in SPMHS nationally.

Under Budget 2026, the Minister for Mental Health secured an additional €640,000 to recruit two additional consultant psychiatrists for the Programme’s busiest sites, the Rotunda and Holles Street, to meet growing demand for the service.

The HSE are progressing a review of the Model of Care for SPMHS, with a Steering Group due to be established shortly and a revised model published later this year. The key objective of this update is the provision of equivalent service to the major hospital sites as for the other 13 spoke sites, and this will be the focus of this second phase of the Model of Care.

A key priority under this Model of Care is to develop a Perinatal Mother and Baby Unit (PMBU). Work is ongoing by the HSE to progress the development of an PMBU for Ireland, an inpatient mental health service with relevant maternity support to allow women to stay with their babies during their mental health treatment.

To meet the needs of new mothers with moderate to severe mental illness, the PMBU must be sited at a location with access to a maternity hospital as well as an acute mental health unit. This will ensure there is always mental health and maternity expertise available. As such, it is envisaged that the PMBU will be developed on the grounds of St Vincent’s University Hospital in Dublin, and a feasibility study is currently underway to determine a location within the campus, with the study due to conclude shortly. The outcome of the study will form the basis for the next key decisions on the project.

In addition to the measures outlined, the HSE Mid-West are progressing plans for a six-bed Perinatal Mental Health Unit on the St Joseph’s Hospital campus in Limerick.