Ireland's first national maternity strategy will be launched later.

It will cover the next ten years and promises an all-Ireland service that is woman-centred.

Maternity services have come under fire in recent years following a number of high profile cases with tragic outcomes such as the death of Savita Halappanavar and the deaths of babies at the Midlands Regional Hospital in Portlaoise.

Former Master of the Rotunda Hospital in Dublin, Sam Coulter Smith says it has been a difficult period: