Calls for a maternity service to be provided again at Monaghan General Hospital were renewed yesterday after it emerged that another baby was born there although the maternity unit closed over two years ago.
The Cavan-Monaghan TD, Mr Paudge Connolly, who was elected on a hospital ticket, said that news of the birth, last Thursday night, did not surprise him.
The baby's mother is a foreign national who is believed to have been living in Monaghan town and presented at the hospital in an advanced stage of labour.
"While I believe the right decision was made for her to have the baby in Monaghan Hospital, there is a very obvious need for a recognised birthing area there," Mr Connolly said.
It is seven months since Bronagh Livingstone's death, and in the intervening period a number of babies have been born either in the hospital or in transit to Cavan General Hospital.
"We still don't have the emergency flying squads that were recommended and I have warned such births will continue to occur if nothing changes," the TD added.
"I am also concerned because of the large number of non-nationals living around Monaghan needing maternity care in addition to people who come across the Border to the hospital," he added.
When the maternity unit closed in Dundalk some of the midwives transferred to the Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda, but the majority who were based in Monaghan hospital are still working there.
With the Bonner report still unpublished and awaiting sanction from the Department of Health, calls for action on the maternity services in the region are expected to increase.