Ms Tracey Conroy:

From a policy perspective, the decision to locate the children's hospital on the St. James's campus and the subsequent decision on the co-location were made by the Government a number of years ago. The maternity hospital is part of the strategic investment priority and the national development plan, but its construction will not commence until the new children's hospital is completed. The Minister has been clear about his commitment to the project in previous appearances before the committee and elsewhere, including in the Dáil. As Ms Hardiman noted, that commitment is shared by the chief executive of St. James's Hospital and the master of the Coombe. The site for the proposed maternity hospital, as identified in the site master plan for the campus at St. James's Hospital, is a core element of the maternity strategy, and construction cannot commence until the children's hospital is completed. In maternity policy terms, the focus has been on the national maternity hospital, about which we have had detailed discussions. My colleague might speak about the moneys available in the capital plan for the national maternity hospital.

We are pursuing a policy of tri-location and relocation of the existing maternity hospitals, starting with the National Maternity Hospital and moving on to the Rotunda and the Coombe. That work will be ongoing over the coming years such that we will be in a position to move as expeditiously as possible to commence the works once the children's hospital has been completed.