Peter Fitzpatrick (Louth, Independent) | Oireachtas source

In supporting the motion, I want to raise awareness of a couple of matters that are causing me and my constituents great concern. At a meeting in my constituency office in Dundalk not long ago about restrictions in services offered at our local hospital, Louth County Hospital, one of my constituents asked me why in Ireland we have the most beautiful civic offices and public buildings but some of the worst hospitals. We do not need to build a "design statement" trophy hospital that has caused massive overspending; we need a hospital that delivers the best service with the highest standards of care to sick children that the State can provide. A state-of-the-art postnatal trauma unit, a world-class paediatric oncology unit and a dedicated burns unit are needed, to name but a few. We need a facility where the mother and child can be cared for under the same roof and where family can be accommodated with a little comfort and dignity. We want our children to have treatments in Ireland and not other countries. We need to bring an end to long waiting lists for paediatric treatments.

It is possible to build a world-class facility without overspending and affecting the taxpayer. It is incredibly unwise to build an underground car park beneath the hospital in question and Deputy Mattie McGrath's health and safety concerns should be considered. Why did a portion of Leopardstown racecourse adjacent to a main road, and which is State-owned, not get enough consideration when potential sites were being discussed? This greenfield site is located adjacent to the N11, M50 and the Luas. The roads and infrastructure have been designed to diverge traffic to and from the site in all directions. Not giving this greenfield site proper and serious consideration was at best a major mistake and it now needs to be considered as a matter of priority.

The horse racing and gambling lobby in this country is influential and it may have many friends in this House. However, the welfare of sick children should be prioritised and proper consideration should be given to this site, with its many natural advantages, not least of which is that the State owns it. We call on the Government to immediately suspend construction of the national children's hospital at the St. James's Hospital site, pending the outcome of a time-limited independent investigation. We call on the Government to transfer the location to a greenfield site, which should be the Leopardstown site.

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