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

I do not know where the Minister got that reply, but it is at least 12 months out of date, having been overtaken by events. It is a disgrace that anyone gave her that reply to read out. What she described might have applied more than 12 months ago, but it certainly does not now. We are in a situation where the disposal of the site for the new maternity hospital cannot go ahead without the approval of the Vatican. In fairness to the Deputies present, the Minister should have had that information available to her. It has been made clear that we are waiting for the Vatican's approval before we can proceed with the provision of a new national maternity hospital. Does the Minister accept that, as a republic, this is an outrageous situation to be in for the State? The new national maternity hospital's estimated completion date was 2024, but there is no prospect of that being met. Does the Minister accept that it was reckless for the Government to allocate public money to this project without having title to the site? Does she accept that it is shameful that we are waiting for the approval of the Vatican in order to provide a decent national maternity hospital?

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