Eric Byrne (Dublin South Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

This is a great day for the children of the State and their mothers, fathers and families who have been campaigning for so long for a national paediatric tertiary hospital. I had the pleasure of serving on the board of Our Lady's Children's Hospital in Crumlin for many years. Before that, I was on the board of St James's Hospital. The people will be blessed in that they will have two of the most professional hospitals deliver badly needed services to children.

I remember the horrible days of children having to be flown to the United States for operations because we did not have the appropriate facilities in Ireland. Many children are still flown to London in England for various operations that the medical profession tells me could be carried out in Ireland if proper facilities were available. I am thankful they are now coming on stream. The biggest victory is for the parents and the children, who are so often in need of life-enhancing operations.

The proposed location is of great reassurance to the very many medical professionals, including nurses, be they Irish or Filipino, and other members of staff in Our Lady's Children's Hospital, Crumlin, who have invested in their communities in Crumlin, Drimnagh and Walkinstown, where they have bought property, are rearing families and sending children to school. They are happy to know that, since the new hospital will be within walking distance, they will be able to remain in their communities.

I remember the early days in which the medical professionals in Crumlin had to engage with those in the Mater hospital. There was much tension as there was a different ethos in each institution, one of which was Catholic. Eventually, the doctors and other medical professionals prepared a plan for the Mater site. Although the plan was ultimately abandoned, all the work is not lost and can be incorporated into the new development.

I thank the Dolphin review group for having identified the site at St. James's Hospital and for having been bold enough to suggest to the authorities there that the maternity hospital site was not big enough for a paediatric unit and that a larger one was required that would allow for the construction of a building that would be sufficiently low to prevent major planning problems.

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