Kevin Humphreys (Dublin South East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for the response. As he outlined, a new operating theatre was added to the hospital while a new two-storey educational and medical centre is planned for the site. It would be more cost effective to redevelop the Elm Park site for the new National Maternity Hospital, however.

I remarked earlier that there are more than 19,000 sq. m. in one block alone in Elm Park. To me it would appear to be cost effective at this stage to put in the preparation and to include this plan in the capital programme of the HSE for 2011 to 2013. We should put this in motion in order that we could move the hospital as soon as possible. If we use the current buildings we could turn the site into a modern functioning national maternity hospital by 2016 for as little as €100 million.

I realise the Minister of State may not have the answer in the House now but if the Minister of Health was here he might have been able to answer it directly. An article was published in the Irish Examinerin July indicating that a memorandum was to be brought to Cabinet seeking approval for the transfer. If the volume of work reported in the Irish Examineris correct it would suggest the work is well down the path but we need to bring it to a speedy conclusion. We should include it in the capital programme for 2013 to 2017 and it would represent a job of which we could all be proud during the term of this Government.

The maternity hospitals are in crisis. The original building was excellent. It served the city well and it is in the heart of my community. Seldom does one hear a Deputy suggest that a hospital should be removed from his constituency but we must consider the projected increase in the rate of childbirth in the city and the greater area. I call on the Minister of State to go back to the Minister for Health, Deputy Reilly, and outline the points made.

The financial package stands up by itself. This is a once-off opportunity because the vacant buildings are in the right place. This could be delivered speedily and in a cost-effective way. We could end up with a national maternity hospital co-located with a major hospital as recommended in the 2008 independent report. If we did this in the coming six months there could be a national maternity hospital in Elm Park by 2016. I urge the Minister of State to discuss this with the Minister, Deputy Reilly, in order that he could come back with some of the answers to the questions I have put today. It boils down to the fact that this is the most cost-effective solution to provide a national maternity hospital for this city and country.

See this speech in context