Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Minister may be aware the Carrick-on-Suir St. Brigid's hospital committee is meeting the Joint Committee on Public Petitions today. During the Order of Business on 18 January, the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, gave a response to questions I raised in respect of the closure of St. Brigid’s hospital. I am asking that the record of the House is set straight because the Minister of State said the hospital was more than 200 years old. It is, in fact, 180 years old and that reply was clearly untrue and misleading. The Minister of State said that it was no longer fit for purpose, as deemed by a HIQA report. That is incorrect or misleading because we cannot get the HIQA report which stated that. Perhaps she does not have that report. In addition, the Minister of State said there were health and safety issues with regard to fire. There are no such reports on that either. The last fire report was done in 2019 which deemed the hospital to be fit and safe. I was in the hospital on many occasions and it should not have been closed. It was bad enough for the Government to close it but to give misleading and false information is not acceptable. Will the Government correct the misleading and false information on the floor of the House?

See this speech in context