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Abolishing private maternity care is not a solution

Removing an option that many value can’t be considered progress

Letters to the Editor. Illustration: Paul Scott
The Irish Times - Letters to the Editor.
Wed Jun 17 2026 - 06:00 • 1 MIN READ

Sir, – Equity in maternity care exists. There is no evidence that outcomes differ between public and private patients. What is at risk is choice.

Our public healthcare system delivers excellent care once patients gain access to it. The real challenge is capacity, overcrowding and waiting lists. Maternity care is different. No woman is asked to wait a few extra months to have her baby because the service is oversubscribed.

Abolishing the private pathway will not create more beds, midwives or obstetricians. It will simply remove an option that many value, leaving women with fewer options and that is not progress. – Yours, etc,

LISA DALY,

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