There is a huge debate ongoing at the moment regarding private maternity care in Ireland and what its future looks like.
For women – mothers, mothers to be, those thinking of having kids – this is a hugely complex topic because every birth is different and there is no ‘one size fits all’ approach.
Many women have a good experience receiving public maternity care but this cannot be applied to everyone and ultimately, it comes down to choice.
Choosing how you want to have your child, via the public maternity care system which is free or through private care which involves a fee to see a named consultant throughout your pregnancy, is a decision that women have been able to make in Ireland but it now seems that there is a time limit on this choice.
Due to planned reform of the health service, the option for private maternity care may be removed and that is where the issue lies.
Why is the private maternity care system changing?
As of 1 January 2026, a major change came into effect for consultants across all areas of healthcare with the impact being that consultants who have ‘public-only’ contracts would no longer be able to treat public patients in private hospitals as they had been doing up until this point.
This has such a major impact on maternity healthcare for a number of reasons.
Firstly, there is currently no private maternity care only hospital in Ireland so there isn’t an option to move services there for who wish to have consultant led care.
Secondly, the current situation is that there are two types of consultant contract happening in hospitals.
Consultants who have a contract dating pre March 2023 can practice private care in public settings but contracts dating after March 2023 are public only.
Although the changes came into effect in January 2026 the topic has emerged again in recent weeks due to a disagreement between the board of The Rotunda Hospital and the government.
Why is there so much talk about private maternity care right now?
Master of the Rotunda, Sean Daly, and the Minister for Health, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, locked heads in a dispute which lasted almost a week but ultimately resulted in the hospital backing down on its position.
Sean Daly had told the Oireachtas Health Committee that ‘public only’ consultants were continuing to treat patients on a private basis despite the new policies.
The Minister for Health had suggested that government funding for the hospital would be paused if the situation did not change and since then the Rotunda has said it will bring its practices in line with the governments ‘public-only’ consultant contracts.
Because this dispute relates to Ireland’s largest maternity hospital, and was extensively covered by the media, it has opened up the topic for public discussions and ultimately leaves women in Ireland with more questions than answers.
What does this mean for the future of private maternity care in Ireland?
There isn’t likely to be any change in the near future but right now the thinking is that over time, private care in public hospitals is likely to be phased out.
Consultants operating on the pre 2023 contracts may retire and be replaced with those working on the new contracts and as a result, there won’t be the option for private maternity care in public hospitals.
This is why many women fear that their choice will be taken away and why there has been such a major reaction to the change.
Why is this happening?
The catalyst for the change and the new consultant contracts relate to the government’s plans for Sláintecare, an initiative that plans to introduce universal health care in Ireland.
This boils down to a single tier health system in Ireland which will eventually replace the current two-tier public and private care across all areas of the health service, with multiple consultants having previously signed up to this plan.
It is the ‘vision of one universal health service for all, providing the right care, in the right place, at the right time’.
Speaking recently about the debate between The Rotunda and the government, the Taoiseach Micheál Martin said that the government would not ‘go backwards’ towards a model of private maternity care referencing the fact that ‘public only’ contracts have been signed and would need to remain in place.
Statistics suggest that one in four women in Ireland choose private maternity care but under the new plans in years to come, this model may no longer be an option.
We would like to hear your experience of giving birth in Ireland, and what type of care you decided to opt for. If you would like to share your story, please get in touch via hello@everymum.ie – Experiences can be kept anonymous.
