David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

However, that is not my perspective, because I am not fearful about that issue. We have to accept the HSE will be the funder of the hospital and the taxpayer will sign a cheque for up to €1 billion and given, as was said earlier, that Sláintecare has committed us to public health, public hospitals and public money, it should be a HSE hospital. Professor Higgins is saying that from his perspective, the current board of the National Maternity Hospital would prefer that it would be a voluntary hospital as opposed to a HSE hospital. At least, that is Professor Higgins’s opinion. That is the point I am making, which arises from everything I have heard. I would dearly like to hear from the St. Vincent's Healthcare Group and I hope that we do. It would be very remiss of us not to hear from the very people who are now the landowners and who now hold all of the cards. It strikes me that this is about control for this particular health group because it will be a health group with four hospitals as a portfolio, with three voluntary hospitals and one private hospital. That is what this is about. They do not want a HSE hospital. That is the only reason that they will not gift the land to the State. That is the only reason why we have ended up with a very convoluted, complicated, legal, contractual company arrangement.