The Health Minister has confirmed that four of the country's nineteen maternity units are still not allowing partners to attend emergency appointments.
All but one unit is allowing partners access to early assessment units, while just twelve of the nineteen are fully compliant with allowing partners access to high-risk pregnancy visits.
Minister Stephen Donnelly says he's engaging with the HSE to ensure all nineteen units are fully compliant as soon as possible.
"This is a source of frustration for women and their partners. It's a source of frustration for me. And I know it's a source of frustration for the HSE as well."
Minister Donnelly has also stated that moving the site of the new National Maternity Hospital would add years to the building process.
He says fully nationalising the site at St Vincent's would cost the state a very large amount of money.
An Oireachtas committee has been debating concerns about the ownership of the site and whether a religious ethos will impact the care given on site.
Health Minister Stephen Donnelly says nationalising the entire site at St Vincent's probably isn't the right approach:
"I don't think buying out a campus at God know's how much money would be that useful in terms of the really serious things we need to be able to do to address waiting lists."
