Dr. Jimmy Sheehan:

I add the following in relation to contact. I tried for a six-month period a few years back to meet the Taoiseach to express my concerns because of my background and interest in the future of our children but I failed to get an appointment. I tried to meet the then Minister, Deputy Leo Varadkar, and I got a reply to say he was too busy with media and other affairs to meet with me. Any attempts I have made to meet with people that matter have been rebuffed. I felt so concerned about it that I put a great deal of time and effort into trying to meet those people.

Mention was made of the Connolly for Kids Hospital group and people coming together. What happened in my case was that I was acting purely as a concerned individual. I made a 17-page submission to An Bord Pleanála and put a great deal of time and effort into trying to have a balanced argument as to why St. James's Hospital was unsuitable. Other people came from different areas. It was after the meeting with An Bord Pleanála that we came together as this group, realising that we shared the same concern for the children. It just evolved in that fashion.