Siobhan Graham whose daughter, Orlaith Quinn, took her own life in 2018, about 48 hours after the birth of her third child, said it was “too little, too late”, for her daughter, but was pleased that it would help others.
She said it was difficult to feel grateful for a service which people were entitled to in the first place.
About £400,000 has been ringfenced from the Department of Health’s building budget to get the project under way.
Speaking on the appointed site which is currently waste ground, Mike Nesbitt said interim and temporary facilities which had been discussed proved not to be cost effective.
The minister said a scoping exercise confirmed that alternative options including a dedicated hospital ward would not deliver a materially shorter timeline or better value for money, and would not offer the same level of safety and assurance for mothers and babies.
