Chris Andrews (Dublin Bay South, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Government did not need a report to tell us the building is uninhabitable because a cursory look confirms it is not fit for anybody to live in. There is a development company that is willing to give labour for free and make it habitable. It wants to work with fire safety people to ensure it is habitable and safe. It could be used on an emergency basis and it is not a long-term solution for anybody for accommodation purposes. This is certainly an emergency and the Government must act accordingly.

I guessed that the Minister of State would say it is on the list. I also know the Government has no intention of taking on or fighting the HSE to get this from its grip. The gatekeepers in the HSE are determined to hold on to it. Baggot Street hospital is a monument to the failure of the Government's housing policy. It is a monument to the failure to address the homelessness crisis. It could have been opened ten or 15 years ago and housed Dublin's homeless population. Why did that not happen? The gatekeepers in the HSE and the Government were not willing to invest in it. As a result, it has been allowed to lie idle.

It could have been developed to benefit the local community but that has not happened. If it had been developed years ago, we would not be in this crisis. It is very hard to understand how a building of this magnitude has been allowed to lie idle and become derelict.

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