Breeda Moynihan-Cronin (Kerry South, Labour)

If they did, it would be grand but the guidelines are not strict enough.

The Government should note that lands attached to St. Finian's Hospital in Killarney are not to be sold into private hands. The psychiatric hospital in Cork, St. Mary's, was sold into private hands for a good deal of money. Magnificent apartments are now being sold on the site for considerable sums. The land in Killarney is very valuable and is needed for housing for the elderly, individuals with Alzheimer's disease and the disabled, and for sports facilities for young people. I appeal to the Minister of State, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe, who is from the constituency next to mine, to assist in this regard. His colleagues in the Progressive Democrats will sell off HSE lands into private hands for private hospitals but we will lie down in front of the gates of St. Finian's Hospital in Killarney to prevent the lands from being sold into private ownership.

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