ACCORDING to a damning internal report seen by The Evil Gerald, Dublin's maternity hospitals are being clogged up by large numbers of women - some of whom are pregnant.

The women, many of whom are in advanced stages of pregnancy, are taking up Eastern Health Board hospitals at an alarming rate, and having large numbers of babies in Holles Street, the Coombe and the Rotunda maternity hospitals as well as taking up beds in many of Dublin's other hospitals.

The report blames the trend on large numbers of women becoming pregnant simply in order to have a baby and therefore secure expensive families for themselves and their spouses.

These women are depriving hospital authorities of valuable space for essential drink-related accident and emergency cases. A&E wards are known to be under severe pressure and struggling to cope with the large numbers of stomach pumpings and treatment of head kickings. This is a direct result of these new mothers who insist on getting themselves pregnant and, if they are working, often taking paid maternity leave to do so.

This madness must end. The Evil Gerald calls on An nGhovairnmáint na hÉireann to move immediately to introduce new legislation, at the earliest possible opportunity, to stop these baby machines from using the system for their own benefit.