Professor Chris Fitzpatrick:

No. We would have to start moving services onto the greenfield site and reconfiguring services nationally. Medically, it would not work. Space-wise, co-location-wise in terms of how to do it and access-wise, it works. That is the issue. What weighted the decision strongly in relation to St. James's Hospital is the fact that it is the largest adult hospital in the State and that cannot be undermined. It is also the largest academic hospital in the State and that cannot be undermined. In terms of what I would do, I would turn it on its head. The decision is made. We are now well into the project and massive excavation has been carried out. The site should be stress tested now to ensure a maternity hospital can be co-located on it. The money that this will cost is small fry given all the money that has been wasted. We need to be absolutely certain that a maternity hospital can be provided on the site and then do it as quickly as possible. There would be issues in terms of access and parking but the bottom line is the medicine and care that would be provided would be at the level that we aspire to. It is a compromise. If the choice is access and double parking versus having the best people in the best place providing the best service I would put up with double parking. That is not, I suppose, ideal, but this in the end is a compromise. We have started it and I think it is too late to stop. I want to make absolutely certain that a maternity hospital is provided. I am looking at flexible ways this could be done in terms of space, cost and delivery. If the remit of the committee is to ensure that money is spent appropriately, expenditure should not continue on this site with the expectation that it is going to deliver a maternity hospital if it cannot be proven that it will. That work needs to start now otherwise value for money will not be achieved and a fortune will be wasted on this project only to find out that it has not delivered what it set out to deliver.

I share the committee's concerns. I have been neutral on the location of this hospital and I have advocated that it should go to Connolly Hospital when there were issues with space and access. We are where we are and we need to deliver this hospital. We need to bring people together to solve the problems that exist and accelerate the solution. In the end, if the maternity hospital, the children's hospital, the adult hospital, the training, the teaching, the education and the innovation are there, all of which one wants in a brilliant health care centre, that could be the best thing in the world. There may be a payoff in terms of access and parking but those issues could be sorted out in time. Cities evolve and space around hospitals evolves. Transport will evolve in terms of what is happening at the present time.

I appeal to the committee to somehow put babies back in the frame in relation to this.