Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)

I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle for allowing me and my colleagues, Deputies Broughan and Costello, to raise on the Adjournment this important matter concerning the future of Temple Street children's hospital.

Temple Street children's hospital has a special place in the hearts of a great number of families throughout Ireland and especially on the north side of Dublin. Many parents are deeply grateful to Temple Street hospital for the role it has played in the health and the lives of their children. The medical, nursing and ancillary staff are outstanding and have coped extremely well in what are deplorable physical conditions.

After many years of promises a development plan was eventually finalised last year. This provided for a co-located child and adult hospital on the Mater hospital campus. To date, €50 million of public money has been spent on this development. Planning permission has been secured and much of the preparatory work has been completed. Funding of €400 million has even been allocated but, incredibly, the Minister has pulled the rug from the development at the last minute and has put the entire future of the hospital in jeopardy. All the carefully worked out plans have now been put on hold pending the major review. If the outcome of the review recommends a location other than the Mater site it will mean the effective closure of Temple Street children's hospital forever. It would be unthinkable for the north side of Dublin to lose the children's hospital.

The Mater campus is the ideal site, given its accessibility for private cars and its many public transport connections. This is essential to parents who need to bring a child to hospital in an emergency but also to the parents of many children with chronic illnesses who must attend hospital frequently and on an ongoing basis. The Mater campus can deliver the children's hospital speedily because of all the work that has already been undertaken. Most importantly, it is the optimum location because of the huge range of expertise that exists both in Temple Street and the Mater, and the fact that 30 of the 31 specialties are already provided from there.

Much party politics is involved in this matter, as well as medical politics. The goalposts have been changed to the disadvantage of Temple Street and decisions seem to be taken behind closed doors. The implications of a decision to recommend a location other than Temple Street, meaning the hospital will be lost, is beginning to dawn on people. Those on the north side of Dublin, the many families who are indebted to Temple Street and we as their public representatives will not tolerate that under any circumstances and we urge the Minister to give approval to the proposal from the Mater and Temple Street children's hospital.

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