Feasibility study delays Dublin mother and baby psychiatric unit site decision
Wednesday 23 September 2026
A feasibility study to find a location for Ireland's first mother and baby psychiatric unit at St Vincent's University Hospital remains incomplete after two years.
A feasibility study regarding the location of Ireland's first specialist mother and baby psychiatric unit remains unfinished more than two years after starting.
The proposed specialist unit, which was first recommended in 2017, is designed as an inpatient psychiatric facility where women facing severe mental health challenges can remain with their infant children. While St Vincent’s University Hospital in Dublin has been identified as the site for the development, successive feasibility studies have failed to resolve exactly where on the hospital grounds the unit should be built.
A current proposal being reviewed involves dividing the unit across two separate locations on the hospital campus. However, records indicate that Department of Health officials are pushing back against this split-site arrangement.
The slow progress comes despite government ministers identifying the development as an urgent need. Figures obtained by the publication show that between 2020 and 2024, there were 80 admissions to psychiatric hospitals in Ireland where the primary diagnosis was related to pregnancy.