A High Court judge said yesterday that he could not make an order compelling a health board to provide home birth services to a mother because the child for whom the services were sought had been born before the case was heard.
Ms Marie Nevin Maguire (42), of Powerhill, Cheekpoint, Co Waterford, was told by the South Eastern Health Board that she was not a suitable candidate for a home birth.
Ms Maguire and her husband, Paul, challenged the decision. She argued that she was in perfectly good health while pregnant with her last born, and was entitled to a home birth.
The SEHB, after assessing her, decided she was unsuitable for a home birth and offered her a midwife-assisted birth in hospital, which she refused.
When the case came before the High Court in November last year, Mr Justice Finnegan accepted the issue was moot in that the pregnancy was over. However, the Maguires asked for declarations on the SEHB's obligations.
In a reserved judgment yesterday Mr Justice Finnegan said that, while he had jurisdiction to do so, he believed the declarations sought by the Maguires should not be granted because they related to future rights or depended on a contingency where a mere academic question of no practical value was involved.
He was satisfied that any declaration which could be granted in this case could be of no assistance to other persons seeking the provision of home delivery services, as the circumstances in each case would vary.