Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister and his officials for the detailed briefing they provided. I will talk about the reform programme and where we are on elements of it. Before I do, I will return to the issue raised by Deputy Cullinane about the new national maternity hospital. As the Minister said, there was a very well-attended briefing yesterday on that issue. It is true to say there is a lot of concern about the fact the new entity, St. Vincent's Holdings, that has been created to replace St. Vincent's Healthcare Group, is operating on the basis of the same ethical code as St. Vincent's Healthcare Group. The constitution has not been changed and there are concerns about the implications of that for women's healthcare and services that should be provided in a publicly owned hospital as well as the question of handing over or gifting a publicly funded hospital to a private entity. A cross-party group has been formed. There is an email on its way to the Minister to request an early meeting on the issue before any final decisions are taken. I hope the Minister will be in a position to accede to that request for a meeting at an early date. I hope he is agreeable to that.