A total of 150 babies were born to drug abusers in Dublin hospitals last year, the Dail was told. Sixty were born in the Rotunda, 50 at the Coombe and 40 at the National Maternity Hospital, the Minister for Health and Children, Mr Cowen, told Mr Ivor Callely (FF, Dublin North Central).

Mr Cowen said that while the Dublin maternity hospitals catered for about 38 per cent of total births last year, it would be expected that they would, in fact, deal with the vast majority of the babies born with a drug addiction, because of the concentration of heroin addiction in the Dublin area.

He added that the Eastern Health Board was working on a broader database on drug misuse which would enable it to target its services more effectively at areas of greatest need. It had also identified a number of key areas where resources were needed, such as in the care of pregnant drug misusers and the provision of back-up services to babies born with drug-related symptoms and their mothers.

Drug liaison midwives, to operate between the three maternity hospitals and drug treatment services, were being appointed with responsibility for all pregnant drug misusers from the initial contact with the services.

Mr Cowen said the board also planned to set up a special gynaecological clinic at a drug treatment clinic so as to provide family planning services to those women wishing to avail of the service. It had put in place an inpatient stabilisation programme for pregnant drug misusers at Cherry Orchard Hospital.

There were 50,390 births registered last year, he said, an increase on the 1995 figure of 48,530. The number of live births per 1,000 of the population had increased from 13.5 per cent in 1995 to 13.9 per cent last year.