Ms Caitríona Sharkey:

To give the committee a little background, I am here as a parent representative. I have a long history of attending Temple Street Children's University Hospital as a parent. During my time there I have become involved in the Temple Street family advisory committee, which is an active group of parents and members of advocacy groups. I am also a parent representative on the governance, quality and patient safety committee in Temple Street, so I hear at first hand the impact the hospital infrastructure has on the ability to deliver a quality and safe service.

We all agree that is what we want.

My son was born 11 years ago with a very serious condition that required multiple surgeries and stays in hospital and many visits over the years. I am one of many parents who have spent nights on roll-away beds and chairs in wards with six or eight patients. I have spent a great deal of time in children's hospitals and the level of care given by clinical staff is exemplary and has been fantastic in our case. Staff, parents and children are inevitably challenged by the infrastructure and conditions in which they are working.

I will address some of the issues that have been raised, including parking. When my son first visited Temple Street Children's University Hospital 11 years ago, the walls were lined with plans for the Mater Hospital. Eleven years later, we still do not have a new, world class children's hospital for all of the children of the country. I accepted the decision of the experts and planning experts that the Mater Hospital was not the right location for the new children's hospital. I also accepted, based on trust, the decision of expert planners to grant planning permission for the James Street site and the Government decision that this site was the best location. For me and many of the parents with whom I interact, the issue is one of delivering a world class hospital and children's health care system from which everybody in the country will benefit. My primary concern and priority is delivery of the new hospital in the earliest possible timeframe.

Mr. Pollock or Ms Hardiman may elaborate a little on some of the traffic management aspects of delivering the new hospital. Temple Street children's hospital is located in the heart of Dublin city. As I stated, I have spent years visiting the hospital and traffic at different times of the day is like traffic elsewhere in the city centre. One issue that has not been mentioned is the stress caused to parents when they do not know if they will secure a parking space. Arriving at Temple Street with a sick child in the back of the car, I have been unable to find a parking space at times because the hospital does not have allocated parking.

The new hospital will have parking and will offer a new and innovative facility of pre-booking a parking space. This will remove an enormous amount of stress from parents travelling to the hospital. Integrated public transport services will also be available, in my case to my child's grandparents who visit from Derry and County Clare. The integrated public transport service will enable people to reach the hospital, which is a major step forward.

As a parent of a child who is in hospital, my needs are very basic. At times, I need privacy to have a private conversation, which is certainly not possible in Temple Street children's hospital. This is not the fault of the hospital but the result of the infrastructure at the hospital. I also need to be able to sleep, find something to eat and get some fresh air. People have spoken about outside space. I have looked at the plans for the new hospital. From my experience with Temple Street hospital, the outside space in the new hospital will be fantastic. Sick children do not need a space the size of Croke Park but a place where they can spend some time with siblings and other family members and get some fresh air. From what I have seen in the plans for the new children's hospital, they will deliver this.