Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

-----and we attempt to form a left Government. That Government, because of this document, will never be ale to take full control and ownership of a hospital that was built with public money. It will never happen because one of the clauses accompanying the reduced level of rent states that St. Vincent's Holdings will never be challenged by the State and taken off the pitch. I ask the current Government to bear that in mind. It should also bear in mind that people more conservative than the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, on the question of reproductive rights could some day be in control and could challenge the meagre legal rights we have gained through the repeal of the eighth amendment.

I will point out one other hypocritical act. We were told that we cannot apply a compulsory purchase order to the lands because it would delay the process. It is also put in a context that suggests it was us in Opposition who caused a nine-year delay. That delay was the fault of St. Vincent's Healthcare Group and the Religious Sisters of Charity who were utterly determined to hold onto ownership of that land, whether it was morally right or legally possible or not. The Government has stated we cannot apply a compulsory purchase order. There is a compulsory purchase order on St. Vincent's Lands in Elm Park from the National Transport Authority, NTA. The NTA is compulsorily purchasing land from the nuns to build BusConnects. That has been done, and will be done, without a whimper, but we could not do the same on behalf of the women of Ireland. That is disgraceful.

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