Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

From the outset, this issue was fraught with difficulties and competing demands. The Mater site was rejected on planning grounds and the new site selection process commenced. I must say I was more than surprised when St. James's was selected, but that is what happened. The background has been the many years over which families have waited for and have outgrown a world-class children's hospital that can provide all the clinical necessities required of a multidisciplinary centre of excellence. This has been and should be the paramount consideration in all of our discussions.

We understand that there are serious and legitimate concerns regarding the decision that was made on the St. James's site. However, we also understand that considerable time and resources have been expended to date on the site, and to stop it now would represent a significant setback for this project. The reality is that if the St. James's site does not go ahead, children who are now seriously ill will be adults before a decision is made on an alternative. There seems to be some unfortunate misconception that it is a case of simply swapping St. James's for Connolly, but of course that is not the case. Even if the matter were opened up again, there would have to be a site selection process along with a number of other processes, such as design process, planning application, funding process, tendering process, award of tender and building process. They would all have to be gone through again.

We think it is now vital that assurances be given that not only can this hospital be built, and the financial implications must be specified to us, but more importantly that it can be run. Will the resources and the staff to equip the second most expensive hospital in the world be available? When Beaumont Hospital was built it was, I think, ten years vacant before it was actually occupied. There can be no point in having a world-class building if wards are closed because of a shortage of nurses or if the funding is insufficient to purchase diagnostic machinery. We need to have those assurances.

The concerns that have been raised regarding the St. James's site must be addressed to give people some comfort that this decision has a legitimate basis and a realistic prospect of being successful. One of the significant concerns for families from throughout the country, including those I know of in counties Wicklow, Kildare and Meath, is that they will be required to bypass hospitals like Tallaght and Blanchardstown, which will be downgraded to minor cases only, and travel instead all the way into the city centre and into an area that is already a traffic blackspot. Assurances must be given that hospitals like Tallaght will be upgraded to deal with emergency cases, without children having to be transported from Tallaght to the city centre.

There are also concerns about the helipad at the St. James's site and whether it will be able to accommodate the Coast Guard helicopter. If it is not, it would appear that critically ill children would be required to be landed at one site and transported to St. James's. That is not acceptable and I would like to hear the Minister's views on it.

During the discussions on site selection, it was accepted that co-location with a maternity hospital was one of the key criteria. However, it appears there are no plans at this stage for such a move. Anyone who has tried to get from Cork Street, where the Coombe Women and Infants University Hospital is located, to the main entrance of St. James's Hospital during rush hour will know that, even though it is a very short distance, it is a significant problem. Furthermore, not every sick child will be born in the Coombe. The transfer of children from other maternity hospitals must also be considered, although the specialty will be at that particular hospital.

We are loath to set back the process, which has already progressed to a significant point in the development of a much-needed new children's hospital. For that reason we cannot support this motion but will look at the amendments. It does not mean that we do not share the significant concerns which have been outlined frequently, particularly by parents of children who are very ill and require this hospital more than those who are looking at it in a purely academic sense.

We really have to be certain that this hospital can be built. We have to be sure that the money is there to build it. We have to be sure that the money is there to run it. We have to be given assurances about the outer hospitals and the emergency cover. We also have to be given some reassurance about access to the hospital which is, from a traffic point of view, in a far from ideal location.

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