I call for a debate with the Minister for Health on gynaecology services. The lack of gynaecology services, particularly in Cork, has moved beyond unacceptable to dangerous. This is not an ordinary crack in a broken system. Women in Cork are being made wait drastically longer than women elsewhere in Ireland. It is a crisis on the boil which is having a devastating effect on women and their families.

There are 4,193 women waiting for an outpatient gynaecology appointment in Cork. This is the longest waiting list of all gynaecology units nationwide and is increasing by 1,000 patients year on year. The waiting list in Cork is twice as long as that of the Rotunda Hospital, which ranks second in the country. One in three women will wait over a year for an outpatient appointment, with many waiting two to three years. Many women arrive in accident and emergency departments in crisis as their conditions deteriorate due to long waiting lists.

There is a significant impact on these women's quality of life. Many of them suffer chronic pain, bleeding and menstrual disorders as they get sicker without treatment. There is a risk of delayed cancer diagnoses among women who have to wait years for outpatient assessment. There is a personal economic impact regarding income lost due to people having to take time off work, and a loss to society when people are not able to go to work.

Cork University Maternity Hospital, CUMH, also has the largest waiting list in the country for gynaecology surgeries. Some 557 women are currently on the waiting list for surgery. More than one in three of these women, 38%, have been waiting for at least one year to have their planned surgery performed. Gynaecology theatres in CUMH are functioning at just 40% of their originally intended capacity. The hospital has two fully commissioned state-of-the-art gynaecology theatres and only one is currently available for gynaecology surgery. It is working only four days per week. No new consultant gynaecologist posts have been created in Cork in the past decade. This is despite 26 such posts having been advertised nationwide. As reported in yesterday's Irish Examiner, these are issues of national importance, and they deserve to be debated in the House. I urge the Leader to invite the Minister for a debate to answer on how this life-and-death matter for women in Cork and surrounding areas is to be addressed.

I, too, wish to raise the issue of maternity services. I acknowledge the work done in regard to Holles Street hospital and its colocation. I am thankful that the difficulties have finally been resolved. We now have a start date for applying for planning permission. It never should have taken nearly a year to get to that stage.

What is happening with Holles Street highlights the issue raised by Deputy Kelleher. Holles Street fought so hard to make sure it had control over its budget. Dr. Boylan says the budget has been eroded, unfortunately, and this is what happens when there is a maternity service attached to a general hospital. The first thing to go is anything to do with women's health care.

I have raised the issues of Holles Street and the Coombe, which is seeking €15 million to be invested in its operating theatres. The HIQA reports from both the Coombe and Holles Street hospitals, in addition to the rising concerns over CUMH, really highlight the need to ensure that when children are born in maternity hospitals, they are born in hospitals that are properly resources and managed and, above all, have a functioning board of governors to ensure long-term investment.

Since I came into the House, I have highlighted Holles Street and other maternity hospitals. I join Senator Kelleher in calling for a specific debate on maternity services. We need a debate on who becomes a member of a board, how the budgets are controlled and who controls them. We must also ensure the money being set aside by the taxpayer for investment in maternity services goes into maternity services and is not hived off for general hospitals and does not become used to fill the hole in the budget. This matter is far too important just to talk about a particular maternity hospital. We must look at them in their entirety, and we must ensure the investment is made. For heaven's sake, let us ensure that a newborn baby is born with the best possible outcomes and that the mother has the best health care service possible. We are not getting this at present. We really need to examine the structures, how boards of hospitals are being appointed and the control the boards have over their budgets.