Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

Last Tuesday, 25 May, under questioning from me on Leaders' Questions, the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Deputy Eamon Ryan, stated the new national maternity hospital "will be operated by two separate voluntary hospitals". He did not mention the identities of the two separate voluntary hospitals and I can only presume they comprise the boards of the current National Maternity Hospital and the St. Vincent's Healthcare Group.

I am sure the Minister does not need reminding that the St. Vincent's Healthcare Group is the lay successor organisation to the previous owner of St. Vincent's Hospital, the Sisters of Charity, who are nuns. He also does not need to be reminded that they are obliged to uphold the values and vision of the founder of the Sisters of Charity, Mary Aikenhead, or in other words, Roman Catholic doctrine. The Minister does not need to be told the provision of abortion services, sterilisation, IVF, gender reassignment surgery etc. is completely inconsistent with the upholding of Roman Catholic doctrine.

Will the Minister tell the House why the Government has articulated support for giving operating rights to a privately owned Catholic lay successor organisation at our new national maternity hospital, which is being built exclusively by the State at a cost of more than €500 million to the taxpayer? The St. Vincent's medical group is hardly likely to provide abortion services at our new national maternity hospital so is the Minister honestly trying to tell us one medical team at the hospital will provide these services while the other will not? Is this not precisely the kind of Irish solution to an Irish problem that the people signalled they wanted rid of when they voted so overwhelmingly to repeal the anti-abortion laws three years ago?

The new national maternity hospital must be 100% publicly owned and fully provide abortion services, IVF, sterilisation and gender reassignment services. That is instead of having a bit over here and a bit over there.

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