Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

As I said in my response to the question from Deputy Doherty, my understanding is that the Government and that which preceded it did approach St. Vincent's to see if it would be possible to purchase the land outright. The hospital group decided that it, as a voluntary hospital, wanted to run with the arrangement involving Holles Street and the new board . That arrangement has changed, with public interest directors being added to the board. With St. Vincent's saying "No" and with real benefits in a co-located system, the question that arises for the Government is what to do. Do we look for another hospital or another co-location facility, recognising that we are probably going to have the same issue with the Coombe and Rotunda in time, because the strategy is to move towards the model where our maternity hospitals are co-located? There are benefits in that regard. We are agreed on that. Therefore, the choice for the Government is whether to turn down a 300-year lease at €10 a year, which is akin to ownership. There is not a material difference between outright ownership and a 300-year lease at that rate. It is better to progress with that, because there is an urgency around delivering combined health services, rather than going back to the drawing board and waiting the five, ten or 15 years that it tends to take this State, unfortunately, to deliver principal health systems. We have not built a new maternity hospital probably since the Coombe in the 1950s or Holles Street in the 1930s. I cannot think of another instance of one being built since then.

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