Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for the opportunity to speak to this urgent and important debate on the proposed new national children's hospital. I am very disappointed by the Government's decision on this major national issue. I have always wanted the hospital location based on the best medical opinion, and that should have always been the priority. This is not about parking cars or visitors to hospitals but rather best international practice and saving children's lives. During the debate in the past couple of months, we have seen many distractions, which I will address later.

My support from the outset has always been for the Mater Hospital proposal. I listened to all sides of the debate, involving many international experts who made cold and practical medical decisions, and all of them came down on the side of the Mater Hospital's proposal. I did so too, having listened to the different views. It is not a popular position but it is important that this view is represented. It is not trendy and I have received a fair amount of criticism over a number of weeks from people I term "the traffic brigade". We are talking about a children's hospital and not worries about parking or clamping. We should be concerned about having the best medical people in the same complex and area, working together to save children's lives.

This is not about traffic or space but the very best international medical practice and providing the best expertise for sick children. I was saddened by some of the misinformation doing the rounds in this debate over the past few weeks, particularly as it related to the Mater site. Professor Brendan Kinsley has indicated that the hospital's new bid deals with any planning concerns from the first proposal, as it has fewer floors and more land than previous plans. He also indicated that the hospital was chosen by an independent international team of medical experts as the best place to house the new children's hospital.

The original proposal for the Mater site was rejected by An Bord Pleanála, which prompted for the process to be opened again. Listening to experts and people with medical experience, the issues become clear. Professor Kinsley has indicated that the Mater is the only location that can deliver an adult, maternity and children's hospital in one place. The Minister knows this. Professor Kinsley argues that the planning problems in the Mater site bid have been addressed. He points out that the hospital board was not involved in the original plan, which was put together by the national children's hospital development board; we have not heard that point doing the rounds over the past nine or ten weeks. Professor Kinsley states: "Tri-location is the principle. We have addressed the planning issue. We have brought down the height of the proposed new development and increased the footprint by a third". He also said that the decision must be based on what is best for children and not the lowest common denominator of planning, which is a fair and reasonable comment.

He also stated that the Mater adult hospital was a brand new facility and had been delivered on time and on budget. These are major pluses in this debate. Professor Kinsley stated the Mater hospital was picked by experts in a process that involved all the major hospitals, including St. James's Hospital. This fact has not been doing the rounds, but it should have been heeded.

For these sensible reasons I proposed and supported the Mater hospital plan. It is not a local political issue. The hospital is in Dublin Central whereas I represent Dublin North-Central. The key issue is that many people were excited by the plan and have been bitterly disappointed. However, the reality is that we must consider the issues of child health, child care and children's services.

I hope that nothing goes wrong with the new planning proposal, given all the discussion and money that has been spent. The €26 million spent on the Mater hospital proposal has gone down the drain. Government Members should consider what they could do with €26 million in terms of services for people with disabilities or, for example, carers, where there is a shortfall of between €10 million and €12 million. A group of people visited me yesterday on that matter. How many minutes do I have remaining?

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