Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It is four years since Sinn Féin got unanimous support for our motion on ownership of the new national maternity hospital. I spoke during that debate and said, and it remains true today, that for an order that takes a vow of poverty, chastity, obedience and service to the poor, the Religious Sisters of Charity appear to have a fixation with land and property that would make a property speculator or vulture fund blush. I do not know why we keep having to have these conversations, but I will tell the Minister one thing. He will have the unanimous support of the House in his dealings with the religious orders. He has a very important job to do and there are two issues that concern me.

When I thought about the motion and came to the Chamber, I was reminded of the photograph of the majority of elected Fianna Fáil Deputies and Senators holding "Vote No" posters, making their position on women's rights and the right to reproductive healthcare very clear. That worries me because I worry the Minister will not get support at the Cabinet table. Some of those people now sit at Cabinet, which is a concern. The Minister will have the support of Sinn Féin and, I hope, the majority of Members.

The second person I thought about when I came in here today was Sheila Hodgers, who, along with her baby, died in 1983. She was a friend of my parents and I knew her. We could argue all day about what caused her death and the clinical reasons, etc. I believe that Sheila's life could have been saved were it not for the religious convictions and persuasions of the people involved in delivering her care. When we reflect on what is needed, we need to remember people such as Sheila.

This is not a zero-sum game. This is important. Access to healthcare for women is important. Healthcare free of religious influence has to be paramount. Nuns and priests have no business in our hospital. Why they want to own this land, or profess to say they need to own this land, baffles me because there is no good reason for it. What we need to do, and we pledge our support for this to the Minister, is ensure that the hospital is built on public land and is entirely free of any religious influence whatsoever. We will support him in that. It is important work and needs to be done.

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