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

Will the Minister answer a question? Why is it beyond the capability of this Government - and why was it beyond that of the two previous Fine Gael-led Governments - to countenance a State-owned and controlled national maternity hospital, built on State lands and through the use of State funds? The Minister once agreed that this was the only credible outcome. In 2017, he told the Dáil that the new maternity hospital "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 on the ownership". Has he changed his mind in that regard? Does he, like the Taoiseach, believe that a lease agreement is practically the same as ownership, so what is the big deal? Is it only the future of women's healthcare services that is on the line and, of course, a €1 billion investment of public funds. The Taoiseach made a big thing of the €10 annual rental charge yesterday. Tellingly, he failed to mention that the actual rent stipulated in the lease agreement is €850,000 per year. It will be reduced to €10 as long as list of six conditions are complied with, including that the landlord, St. Vincent's Holdings, retains a controlling stake over the use of the hospital. If these conditions are breached, the rent will revert upwards. If St. Vincent's Holdings is magnanimously offering an annual rent of €10, can the Minister explain why this punitive penalty clause exists? It is especially bizarre that a separate legal document - an options agreement - specifically countenances the State purchasing the site. If everyone agrees that it is legally feasible that the State could buy the site, and that outcome is expressly provided for in legal documents, why is the State not just buying the site?

There has been a lot of talk about conspiracy theories in recent days, with those who have genuine concerns about this deal being vilified and equated almost to anti-vaxxers or Covid deniers. This is something I personally find pretty reprehensible. If we want to talk about conspiracy theories, I have a better one. An article in The Irish Timestoday suggests that the Minister of Health has 100% guaranteed that terminations and sterilisations will be available in the new hospital, a guarantee which, as reported by the media, could be relied on in legal proceedings as evidence of the Government's intention concerning the hospital. That is nonsense. The only thing that a court will have regard to is the legal documents underpinning the deal. A Minister's guarantee, unless it is contained in the legal documents, is worthless.

I have two questions. Why, when the Minister, Deputy Ryan, once insisted that the State should own the site, is he apparently happy to go along with this deal? Second, is the rest of his party in agreement with him?

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