Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Last November at Government Buildings, the Taoiseach and the Minister for Health announced with great fanfare that the National Maternity Hospital was to be co-located with St. Vincent's Hospital. It was greeted positively at the time but the Government gave no indication of the detail involved. The co-location is welcome. Holles Street is no longer fit for purpose. There is a moral and public interest obligation on all concerned to facilitate the co-location of the National Maternity Hospital with St. Vincent's in the interest of the safety of the women of this country and those who avail of the services. When the details emerged, people were very taken aback that the ownership of the hospital was to reside in the St. Vincent's Hospital group and the Sisters of Charity and that the State's investment of hundreds of millions of euro would not be reflected in the ownership of the new hospital. Notwithstanding the Minister had embraced this last November and must have been aware of the details, given that he appointed Kieran Mulvey as mediator, he rushed out saying he was going to write to the HSE to seek clarification on the deal. When in doubt the Minister wrote to the HSE now, as if he knew nothing about it - a rabbit caught in headlights. The furore that developed as a result of the revelations seemed to catch him by surprise. It is no surprise St. Vincent's Hospital group was taken aback by the Minister's position.

It is not just a church-State issue but a financial one and one of corporate interests.

It is about who protects the taxpayer and the taxpayers' investment in a facility such as this and who is negotiating on behalf of the taxpayer. Clinical independence is critical but so also is taxpayers getting full recognition and reflection for their investment in any new facility such as this. We need far more transparency in this particular deal. The public-private mix, for example, is an important issue that should not go without some degree of scrutiny. Will the Taoiseach confirm that there will be complete clinical independence in the new national maternity hospital to be located at St. Vincent's University Hospital? Will he also confirm that the hospital group and the Sisters of Charity will not have a majority on the board? Above all, will he ensure the State, through the taxpayer, will own the hospital and have its investment reflected in it as the bottom line, given the level of investment involved?

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