David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

That is the problem for me. The two HSE board members who dissented from the decision, Professor Deirdre Madden and Dr. Sarah McLoughlin, stated they "continued to have concerns regarding legal ownership of the site and building, and the governance and control of the proposed new maternity hospital" and this "led to our dissent from the Board's decision." They go on to say: "The advantages of co-location could be achieved by contractual terms through which both hospitals agree to collaborate effectively[...]." They then go on to say: "The statement from SVHG that they must retain ownership for the delivery of integrated patient care is unsatisfactory and runs contrary to the argument that the location of the underlying freehold ownership has no bearing on the governance [and] operation of the hospital." It strikes me that this is about control by that group. It does not want to give the State the land because it does not want a HSE hospital on that site. As a result of that, we have ended up with a convoluted process, as I have discussed with the Minister in the Dáil and elsewhere, of companies within companies. I am not a legal expert but some such experts talk about phrases and language in the constitution that are ambiguous. All of that is a product of the State not owning the land. That is a fundamental problem.

I will make a point to the clinicians in the room. I have no difficulty with clinicians arguing we need a new hospital. We fully agree. There is nobody in this room who does not want a new national maternity hospital. I do not dispute that Holles Street is not fit for purpose. The Rotunda Hospital is not fit for purpose. Of course we need a new national maternity hospital but we have wider responsibilities. We have to protect patients, clinicians and the interests of the taxpayer. The taxpayer and the interests of patients and citizens are best protected by a public hospital on public land, rather than the convoluted process the Minister is presenting to us.