Chris Andrews (Dublin Bay South, Sinn Fein)
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Built in 1893, the Royal City of Dublin Hospital on Upper Baggot Street, more commonly known as Baggot Street hospital, was a main centre of care for a large part of the south-inner city for almost 100 years before the acute services were transferred to St. James's Hospital in 1986.

Despite its current state of disrepair, this building stretching 5,600 sq. m is still stunning to look at. It is an excellent example of Victorian architecture in the city. Its striking red-brick facade and high spires make it the most striking landmark in that particular area. The architecture is Flemish, as is that of several of the surrounding buildings, and the old nurses' residents is now the Dylan Hotel around the corner on Eastmoreland Place.

For a time, a number of community services were operated out of the hospital, including a primary care team, a stroke team, addiction services and a gay men's health service, but this has all ceased and the building is now rapidly falling into dereliction in one of the most prime sites in Dublin's south-inner city. Incredibly, Baggot Street hospital has been allowed to remain idle for years and local businesses and residents are now calling for it to be used to house people fleeing the war in eastern Europe. This building could have been repurposed ten to 15 years ago to house Dublin's homeless and maybe that is something that will happen in the future.

A local developer has said that her building company is happy to provide the labour for this project free of charge. It is estimated to cost €1 million and the labour would be free. That would be a significant saving to the State. That would repair and make fit for purpose the building for Ukrainian refugees. It is estimated the building could comfortably house 200 beds. The developer believes the ground and first floors could be delivered within two months of each other with each subsequent floor taking a month after that to deliver. Works would be done under the supervision of a fire consultant.

In recent years, the HSE has indicated it plans to sell part of the hospital for it to be converted into offices, a hotel or apartments and use the funds for a new primary care centre but nothing has ever happened. Today, the building continues to become more and more derelict.

I understand the local community is fully behind the project to make it a refugee centre and is willing to do whatever it can to get the hospital ready to welcome Ukrainian refugees.

It is in the city centre, where there are many employment opportunities. It has schools and is a perfect location to house Ukrainian refugees.

I am asking the Minister of State to intervene as a matter of urgency and get the HSE to show some vision in getting this hospital back into operation as a centre for Ukrainian refugees. With a bit of goodwill on all sides and with the support of the local community, this could be done in a relatively short period. There is much local community support for this initiative and it is a shame that the HSE seems to be totally uninterested in furthering the project. To be brutally honest, the HSE is being negligent and must be reined in. The hospital must be taken from its dead man's grip.

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. He is absolutely right that local communities have been to the fore over the past three months in responding to and welcoming our Ukrainian neighbours, who have had to flee their country. It is vital that Departments and public bodies work together to provide the best holistic response to ensure the safety of, and provide support to, people arriving in Ireland after fleeing conflict in Ukraine.

My Department and the HSE are working to ensure the provision of medical services to Ukrainian refugees, including the issuing of over 18,000 medical cards to date, co-ordinating disability service access and working closely with the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth on the provision of a new national Ukraine arrivals accommodation transit and processing centre in Citywest. The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth is responsible for the provision of emergency refugee accommodation.

The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage is focusing on the medium- and long-term accommodation challenges and leading cross-Government efforts through a housing task force established by the Government for this purpose. This work involves considering a number of options, including refurbishment and reconfiguration of vacant public and privately owned buildings as multi-occupancy accommodation for Ukrainian refugees. As part of this work, my Department and the HSE have submitted a list of potentially suitable properties to Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, with the aim that those that might be suitable for use as multi-occupancy accommodation can be brought into use for such purposes.

With specific regard to Baggot Street hospital, I can confirm that the building was identified by the HSE as a location with the potential to be used to provide accommodation for refugee housing. The Deputy is more familiar with the building than I am, and I have only seen it in passing the outside. It is a substantial building. The viability of the building for this purpose is contingent upon several factors, including the condition of the building and the nature of any required works. The timescale to complete any potential works is also a factor that must be addressed.

An initial feasibility report on Baggot Street hospital has been completed. The findings of the report are that the building, in its current state, is not habitable. The report also notes the added complexity of working with a protected structure because it is a listed building. The need for extensive works, particularly regarding necessary upgrades to electrical, plumbing and fire protection, are identified in the report. More in-depth surveys are required to scope what work would be required to bring the building up to even the most basic health and safety standards. Given the condition of the building, such surveys would be time-consuming.

The report indicates that it is not possible to establish scope or timeframes for necessary works until all surveys are completed and statutory approvals and planning permissions are received. Nevertheless, substantial work and time would be necessary to bring the building to a habitable condition. It is the goal of the Government to provide the best possible support to refugees fleeing the Ukraine conflict, including providing suitable emergency and medium- to long-term accommodation in the initiatives under way. Any decision in respect of the Baggot Street hospital building will be taken in that context.

Chris Andrews (Dublin Bay South, Sinn Fein)
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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.

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for his comments. I do not think anybody ten or 15 years ago could have pre-empted that Mr. Putin would invade Ukraine and had the building ready as a result. I do not have the history of the Baggot Street hospital.

Chris Andrews (Dublin Bay South, Sinn Fein)
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It could have been redeveloped for Dublin's homeless population.

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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I know it is a substantial building. I should be clear and will put this on the record again. The Deputy mentioned that the HSE has its fingers in this, but the HSE submitted a list of potentially suitable properties to the Department of Housing, Heritage and Local Government for use as multi-occupancy accommodation. Baggot Street hospital was included in that list. I am replying on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, and I take on board the Deputy's comments about a development company prepared to provide labour for free on this. Everybody is trying to work together to do the very best they can to ensure Ukrainian refugees can be housed in a good location and with the correct surroundings. I will certainly bring the suggestion to the Minister. It is a substantial offer from any developer in this day and age. I thank the Deputy for raising the matter tonight.