Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

There has been no review of the decision of last summer. The position some years ago was that there were three children's hospitals in Dublin, each providing secondary care services for their respective catchment areas, and two providing tertiary care services on a national basis.

Following its establishment, the HSE set up an external review of paediatric tertiary services. This review found that the population and projected demands of the State could support only one world-class tertiary paediatric hospital. The joint HSE and Department of Health and Children group was established to progress the necessary actions to set up a world-class tertiary paediatric hospital. That was the decision and the process that took place. There is no change in this regard.

This means that the children's wing of Tallaght Hospital will continue to function except for the national element, that is, work that cannot be done other than in a state-of-the-art facility. Children's beds will continue to be provided in several hospitals around the country. The recommendation, however, is that there should be only one centre of excellence to deal with specialised cases. Two units are not required.

Prior to this recommendation, the position was that Crumlin Hospital would either stay where it was or that Temple Street Hospital would move to the Mater campus and that both would handle what would be considered sophisticated and more complex cases. The review group said "No" to this option on the basis that it was not necessary for a country this size. The recommendation was that simple cases would be facilitated in several locations, which, in Dublin, would include Tallaght Hospital, and that specialist work should be done in one unit. Negotiations are ongoing between the various groups because there is not agreement in this regard.

The Deputy is correct that Professor Gill gave me the advice that there should be two sites, which is what was going to happen before the external review was undertaken. Professor Gill's view was that agreement would never be reached between the medics on two separate locations. Previous to that, there was concern that the position of Temple Street Hospital would be eroded and that all the work would move to Crumlin. This issue has been ongoing for some years. Following the external review, the recommendation was that our population and the State's projected demands could support only one world-class tertiary paediatric hospital, wherever it was to be located.

See this speech in context