Management at the new €75 million Cork University Maternity Hospital (CUMH) insists the facility will open as planned at noon on March 24th in spite of a row with the Irish Nurses Organisation (INO) over staffing.
Operations at St Finbarr's hospital, Erinville hospital and the private maternity unit at the Bons Secours will transfer to CUMH on that date.
Barry O'Brien, assistant national director of human resources for HSE South, said it was important to give pregnant women certainty about the opening date of the hospital.
"The 24th of March will see the hospital open at 100 per cent capacity. We get a weekly update from the Bons Secours hospital, and the latest update is that all but nine of their staff will be here when the hospital opens.
"There is an issue with the INO and staffing. But if there are issues they will be dealt with. We are negotiating with them [the INO] day in and day out."
The INO insists the new maternity hospital will not be viable unless the HSE South delivers 383 trained midwives to cater for an anticipated 8,000 annual deliveries in the area.
It held a public meeting at a hotel in Cork last night, at which members expressed their concerns for the safety of maternity services in the area if the HSE insisted on opening the maternity hospital without the required numbers of midwives and nurses.
However, Mr O'Brien said staffing levels were actually set to be higher at CUMH than the combined personnel numbers on site at St Finbarr's, the Bon Secours and Erinville.
He said the HSE was willing to have a review of midwifery staffing once the new facility opened.
The new hospital comprises six floors and a basement, and covers 13,000 sq m. Construction began in 2001, with €50 million being spent on the facility itself and €20 million on equipment.
The hospital comprises 144 maternity beds, including six for women who experience difficulties.