Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Yesterday, I raised with the Taoiseach the real and serious concerns held by many regarding the ownership of the new national maternity hospital. The Taoiseach dismissed these concerns again and doubled down on his characterisation of this issue as a "red herring". However, last night in a letter to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health, two HSE board members, Professor Deirdre Madden and Dr. Sarah McLoughlin, restated their strong opposition to the ownership deal. In the letter, they describe the ownership deal as "unsatisfactory" and state:

While the shares have since been transferred from the [...] Sisters of Charity to a new company, St Vincent's Holding CLG, we believe that in the interest of the public trust and confidence in this new project, there should be absolute clarity on the separation of Church and State.

They go on to observe that the necessary public trust and confidence "would be better achieved if the State owned the land on which the hospital [will be] built". Now that comes from two eminently qualified professionals who were centrally involved in planning for the new maternity hospital. Their concerns, it must be said, mirror those held by many of us on the Opposition benches and, indeed, by many Deputies on the Government benches, as well as by people right across society.

I put it to the Taoiseach that the best way to allay fears and to resolve this problem is for the Government to secure full public ownership of the land and for us to have a clear transaction in which the St. Vincent's Healthcare Group, SVHG, transfers the land directly to the State. That after all, was the initial promise or undertaking from the Sisters of Charity. This would provide absolute, airtight clarity. It would ensure the best protection of the State's interest in what will be a very expensive project. Additionally, it would ensure it is the State’s health authorities that set the range of and the clinical governance for services provided at the hospital.

I think this is just a matter of common sense, but the Taoiseach has pushed back against this common sense in claiming that the current labyrinthine arrangements amount to public ownership. They do not. Repeating the refrain of a "tenner a year" does not change that reality. There is no doubt in my mind that the St. Vincent’s Healthcare Group has to move. It must step up to find a resolution to this issue, but this Government must also step up. Through inaction, the Government will be acquiescing to and colluding in a deal and an arrangement that does not fully protect the public interest.

Tá bunús maith leis an imní maidir leis an ospidéal máithreachais nua. Léiríonn na saincheisteanna tromchúiseacha a léirigh an tOllamh Madden agus an Dr. McLoughlin go bhfuil an imní chéanna ar dhaoine ar fud na tíre. Is é an bealach is fearr chun an fhadhb seo a réiteach ná don Rialtas úinéireacht Stáit ar an talamh a aimsiú. We all want to see this hospital built and built quickly. It can and must represent a huge step forward for the modern, progressive healthcare that women in Ireland deserve. Therefore, I put this proposition to the Taoiseach again in the hope, more than the expectation, that I will get a clear answer. Will he, the Tánaiste and the Minister for Health get around the table with representatives of the SVHG and convince them to transfer that land directly to the State?

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