Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Take it up.

The next item is about protected disclosures in the Prison Service and I propose we send a copy to the individual who raised the matter with us. Is that agreed? Agreed.

The next item is No. 735 from myself, enclosing correspondence relating to the national paediatric hospital development board. The matter raised will be of real concern to many members and we should write to the board for a response to the issues and for an update on the board's work, including the financial position. We were going to follow this up by bringing them in before the summer but we held off. They seem to be moving ahead but a key element of the decision to locate to St. James's was that it was to be located at a university hospital, at a site with a maternity hospital. The plan was for the Coombe hospital to move ultimately to that site but, from what I am hearing, I cannot see it happening in 30 years' time. There does not seem to be the money to pay for the move of Holles Street to St. Vincent's, which will take a decade even if it does happen. Moving the Coombe will have to happen after that.

One of the pillars on which the decision was made was co-location with a maternity hospital, which is decades away. I just raise that point, although it probably does not come within our remit. We always said we wanted an update on its plans from the national paediatric hospital board but we held off earlier so we will follow through on that. When we get a response, we will decide how to deal with it then.

The next item, No. 736, correspondence dated 11 August, is from an individual regarding an appeal on a planning application. I propose that we write to the person and state that this matter does not fall within the remit of the committee.

No. 737 is correspondence from the Department of Education and Skills relating to information requested by the committee regarding the sale of lands at Clonkeen College, County Dublin. In its response to the Department, the Congregation of Christian Brothers confirmed that the lands in question have been sold, that it has signed and exchanged legally-binding contracts with the purchaser and that the transaction cannot be reversed. The correspondence further states that the decision by the Congregation of Christian Brothers, a private entity, to dispose of land owned by the congregation is a matter for the brothers and the Department is not privy to the detail of the contractual arrangements or to deliberations on why the lands in question were selected for disposal. The correspondence includes information regarding funding allocated to the college for the development of school facilities and states that the Department is not aware of any instances of sale of school lands for development purposes. I propose to publish this reply and to send a copy of the letter to the individual who raised the matter. Is that agreed? Agreed.

No. 742, dated 18 August, is correspondence from the HSE enclosing an information note as requested by the committee regarding the older persons' services from the social care division of Our Lady's Hospital, Cashel, Clonmel. This can be forwarded to Deputy Mattie McGrath who wrote to the committee about the matter.