Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The way this matter has been approached by the Government is very unsatisfactory. We have been presented with a unilateral Government motion when the Minister should have sought consensus now that the location of the children's hospital has been decided. I welcome the fact a site has, one hopes, been chosen finally, but no approach was made to me, as the Sinn Féin spokesperson on health, regarding this motion. There has been no consultation with any of the Opposition health spokespersons, which is the Minister, Deputy Reilly's hallmark, both within his Department and beyond. It is inappropriate for such a self-congratulatory motion to be proposed by the Minister himself and then to be taken in the context of statements. We had all understood that we were here to participate in statements.

I welcome that a site has been chosen finally for the new national children's hospital. This process has gone on for far too long. The immediate priority now must be to move quickly to the planning and development stage. Every effort should be made to expedite the delivery of this vital facility as near to the target date of 2016 as possible, despite the disappointing view from the Minister, Deputy Reilly, that the target can not now be reached.

The story so far of the, as yet unbuilt, national children’s hospital has been a sorry saga, not least for the children and parents of Ireland. It is nearly seven years since the McKinsey report recommended a single tertiary hospital for children located in Dublin. The Mater hospital site was chosen early on by a HSE task force but immediately there was controversy about the suitability of the site and competing bids from other existing hospital sites in the city, as well as other bids from potential developers of greenfield sites, became available.

We then had the establishment of the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board by the former Minister, Mary Harney, in May 2007. After further controversy, two successive chairs of the board resigned in October 2010 and March 2011, respectively.

The review of the site location commissioned by the Minister, Deputy Reilly, then followed, with the Mater site confirmed in July 2011. At that time, it appeared as though the final chapter had been reached but this hope was dashed with the refusal of planning permission by An Bord Pleanála in February 2012.

I earnestly hope the decision announced by the Government this week is the final word on the issue of location. The focus now must be on delivering this vital and long overdue health care facility for the children of Ireland. However, lessons also must be learned from this overly protracted, complex and highly controversial process and key questions arise in this regard, which I ask the Minister of State to note. Why did it take five years from the initial choice of the Mater site to the submission of a planning application? Why was the negative decision of An Bord Pleanála on the scale of the proposed hospital on the Mater site not foreseen, especially given the years it took to get the planning stage? Alternatively, could such an outcome have been foreseen at all? Perhaps that is the case. Does this decision raise further questions about the consistency and judgment of An Bord Pleanála? After all, this is the same board that approved the monster shopping centre for the nearby Carlton site on O'Connell Street with total disregard for the impact this would have on and the threat it would represent to the Moore Street national monument. What role did medical politics and competition between different hospitals, including key professionals therein, play in this saga? I note there is plentiful evidence of this again, even after the announcement was made this week.

What does all this say about the manner in which the health care system is run in respect of both policy and strategy and the manner in which services are delivered? The State is funding a hospital system in which major hospitals are, to all intents and purposes, independent entities, often acting in a competitive manner and sometimes in a hostile manner, as the location controversy once again has shown, rather than co-operating as integral parts of a coherent network. Certainly, the latter description is what must be achieved and that point must be reached. This saga shows that coherence is still lacking in the system and as such, it is not serving patients well. It is certainly not providing the best value for public money.

One thing is certain, which is the children of Ireland have been badly let down. They have depended for too many years on three existing children's hospitals that are inadequate when it comes to providing the requisite care. Having made that point, I salute the great dedication of staff and the high standard of care provided at Crumlin, Temple Street and Tallaght hospitals. However, these hospitals all agree their premises and facilities are not sufficient and that a new national hospital has been needed and is necessary. While the saga over the location of the new hospital has continued, the aforementioned three hospitals have struggled on. I join with other voices in emphasising it is critically important that they be properly resourced while we await completion of the new hospital. I add my appeal to those made earlier in that regard.

The Government must ensure full support for the existing children's hospitals, which are struggling to cope and to that end, it should halt the vicious regime of health care cuts of the Minister for Health, Deputy Reilly, which affect the children's hospitals as much as other hospitals in the public system. I note the chairs of the medical boards of the three existing children's hospitals have urged the Minister to proceed without delay with the plan to build a maternity hospital at St. James's Hospital. While welcoming the Government decision to build a children's hospital on the St. James's site, they stated that the facility needed to be tri-located with an adult hospital and a maternity hospital. The letter to that effect was signed by Dr. Ciara Martin of the National Children's Hospital, Tallaght, Dr. Stephanie Ryan of Temple Street Children's University Hospital and Dr. Sean Walsh of our Lady's Children's Hospital, Crumlin. It also was co-signed by Dr. Colm Costigan, clinical director of the three Dublin children's hospitals, as well as by Professor Alf Nicholson, clinical lead of the HSE's national paediatric programme, who I knew in an earlier life when we both were serving members of the North-Eastern Health Board, God bless us both.

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