Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Minister did not answer my questions. I asked why the Sisters of Charity and St. Vincent's cannot gift this land to the State. It is as simple as that. From what the Minister said, it seems that he supports the idea of spending €1 billion of taxpayers' money building a hospital that we all agree is needed on land that is not owned by the State. Does he agree with the statement that I have not heard a single dissenting voice from anyone who does not believe that the hospital must be in complete public ownership? That should involve not the creation of a lease arrangement but, rather, the transfer of ownership of the site to the State so that there is no uncertainty or lack of clarity regarding ownership. These were the Minister's words in opposition. The difference is that now he has some power to do something about it. It should not involve the creation of a lease arrangement but rather the transfer of ownership of the site to the State so that there is no uncertainty. The Minister previously said that the State needed to step up. It is time for him to step up. Deputy Hourigan was on the radio yesterday saying that this is an incredibly serious issue. She said it went to the core of why people voted for the Green Party. Has the Minister abandoned the position he held, which was that a lease agreement was not acceptable and did not provide the certainty or has he now rolled over to the tune of Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil?

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