Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick East, Labour)

With no disrespect to the two Ministers of State opposite, I regret the Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Harney, is not in the Chamber to take this important matter. She did not even attend the Chamber earlier when the matter was raised on the Order of Business.

My only concern is for the best outcome for the country's children. The resignation of Philip Lynch as chairman of the national paediatric hospital development board has cast a cloud over the hospital's future, however. Several substantial issues raised by Mr. Lynch have not been adequately answered by the Government.

Has the €400 million funding for the project been ring-fenced? A gap in funding, already believed to be €200 million, will have to be made up in philanthropic donations. From inquiries I have learned no one believes such a gap can be filled by this means.

The site for the proposed hospital has been controversial since it was first announced. There have been constant questions about the level of consultation and transparency in this choice. It is also believed political pressure was brought to bear on the choice. It is now being asked whether a national children's hospital can be delivered. Clear answers need to be provided to these questions.

Mr. Lynch also raised questions as to whether funding has been secured for an ambulatory centre at Tallaght which was to be part of the national paediatric hospital.

The public has lost trust in believing the Government has the capacity or even intends to develop a national paediatric hospital. Questions have also been raised as to whether the preferred site is appropriate since access, in particular, seems to be a problem. I do not just raise the question of whether it should be built on a greenfield site. Other suggestions, such as locating it at St. James's Hospital, were put forward at the time.

The questions I ask must be answered in the immediate future. Somebody must examine these issues independently, preferably somebody with expertise from outside this country. He or she should provide the public with honest answers to all these questions. The biggest question now is whether the funding will be available at all, irrespective of the site on which the hospital is to be built. Is the funding secured or can it be secured?

These questions should have been answered tonight by the Minister for Health and Children, who is responsible. She went on the airwaves over the weekend and blustered on this. She basically said: "I am the Minister, I am telling you it is going to happen and that will have to be good enough." A Green Party Minister and Fianna Fáil Minister are present. It should not be good enough for either of their parties to simply have the Minister for Health and Children say that. This man was put in the position of chairing this group. He is a person in whom I presume the Government had faith at the time. He has now resigned and raised these substantial questions which were not answered in a transparent or effective way by the Minister for Health and Children over the weekend.

I look forward to the Minister of State's reply, but this is not an adequate way of dealing with the issue. The Minister for Health and Children has not been in the House to answer questions and there was no response from the Government today to provide for a proper question and answer session with the Minister to address this crucial issue for our children.

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