Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

It was very clear that public concern was centred on two aspects, the first of which was ethos, while the second was ownership. Perhaps the issue of ethos has been addressed, but we do not know because we do not know the further details of the new entity proposed. On the issue of ownership, people were outraged that a publicly owned facility, valued at €300 million, could be handed over to private interests. This was rejected outright by the public and that message came across very clearly. On the use of public hospitals by public patients, does the Minister accept the principle that such a hospital must be retained in public ownership?

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