Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)

The Mater is that hospital. I urge the Minster to ensure he brings clarity to this issue and that he states that he is fully committed to the development of the children's hospital so that it moves to the planning stage as soon as possible.

There is a shortage of funding and we do rely on philanthropy and support from the private sector to develop the hospital. If there is uncertainty in the context of the commitment from the Government to the development of a national children's hospital, it will undermine confidence in those who may want to assist the State in developing a children's hospital. The timeline is in place but it is tight. We expect that the Minister will give full support to the children's hospital.

While I do not want to play politics with the case of Maeve McGivern, can I have clarity that protocols will be put in place as quickly as possible to make sure that what happened recently in the context of a transfer to Britain for a transplant will not happen again?

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