Results 21,081-21,100 of 49,836 for speaker:Stephen Donnelly
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: New National Maternity Hospital: Discussion (11 May 2022)
Stephen Donnelly: That is right. In 2017, planning permission was secured. In December 2018, the then Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, approved the contract for the first phase of the NMH to proceed.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: New National Maternity Hospital: Discussion (11 May 2022)
Stephen Donnelly: There are many processes done in parallel.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: New National Maternity Hospital: Discussion (11 May 2022)
Stephen Donnelly: We do not do these projects very often, so it is not like we can look at what is being done across multiple other projects at the same time. However, yes, projects would be progressed in multiple ways while business cases are being developed. This is because if you do everything one after the other, you will just get never get anything done.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: New National Maternity Hospital: Discussion (11 May 2022)
Stephen Donnelly: The business case is with the Department of Health for review. It will go to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform through the normal process.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: New National Maternity Hospital: Discussion (11 May 2022)
Stephen Donnelly: I fully agree with the Deputy and I appreciate her acknowledging that this is a deep-seated mistrust that goes back for generations and it is understandable that this mistrust is there. I will make a few quick points as follows. First, a view has been expressed that we could just own the land and the building and that it could be a HSE hospital. We could take the current national maternity...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: New National Maternity Hospital: Discussion (11 May 2022)
Stephen Donnelly: To be clear, I am saying that land ownership has nothing to do with what will go on in the hospitals and that it is not why directors are being appointed.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: New National Maternity Hospital: Discussion (11 May 2022)
Stephen Donnelly: The structures have been explained in detail by the lawyers. It has been clearly said that the St. Vincent's Healthcare Group has the freehold and that for the next 300 years the State will have the leasehold ownership. That is the position. I ask Ms Brosnan to come in as she has not spoken yet.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: New National Maternity Hospital: Discussion (11 May 2022)
Stephen Donnelly: To be clear nothing read out from the St. Vincent's fact sheet is different to anything that has been said here. Can we hear from Ms Brosnan on that point?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: New National Maternity Hospital: Discussion (11 May 2022)
Stephen Donnelly: Deputy Bríd Smith was asking very reasonable questions about a deep seated and not always obvious religious influence.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: New National Maternity Hospital: Discussion (11 May 2022)
Stephen Donnelly: I will make one quick response if I may. I know we are well over time. I want to go to the reasonable challenge Deputy Smith put forward. She said she does not trust St. Vincent's to appoint whoever to the board. I think that is very unfair but it is the Deputy's right not to trust any Minister for Health. None of us know who the next Minister for Health will be.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: New National Maternity Hospital: Discussion (11 May 2022)
Stephen Donnelly: Then we do not trust the State to appoint directors? There are eight HSE hospitals that are all the hospitals that are not providing all the services. Clearly running it as a HSE hospital is not the answer because that is not providing any guarantees. So where do we go? We know that simply having it as a public hospital on public land run by the HSE by definition does not guarantee it...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: New National Maternity Hospital: Discussion (11 May 2022)
Stephen Donnelly: I am not.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: New National Maternity Hospital: Discussion (11 May 2022)
Stephen Donnelly: I promise I am really trying to come down the issue. I am taking what she is saying really seriously and trying to address it. None of us know who the next Government will be or who will be in a position to make appointments on behalf of the State.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: New National Maternity Hospital: Discussion (11 May 2022)
Stephen Donnelly: No I appreciate that. Can I just wrap this up? I am sorry. I do not want to keep going on. The question for all of us is that given the HSE model on its own does not guarantee anything, people have raised concerns about the motivations of people being appointed from various places, we have to ask what we come back to? What is the rock on which we are building these guarantees? It is the...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: New National Maternity Hospital: Discussion (11 May 2022)
Stephen Donnelly: No, the NMH has one constitution. There is one document. The document that matters here is the constitution of the national maternity hospital. If people do not have faith in various directors being appointed where do we go? Where we go is to the constitution. The constitution states not only that the new hospital can provide all services, but also that it must provide all services and it...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: New National Maternity Hospital: Discussion (11 May 2022)
Stephen Donnelly: As I said earlier on, I do not think anyone should ever rule anything out. I am certainly finding today's debate incredibly useful. It is really useful to hear the very understandable concerns raised in the debates we are having. Might we hear from Dr. Mahony regarding Senator Conway's concern about some sort of covert influence? Would that be okay?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: New National Maternity Hospital: Discussion (11 May 2022)
Stephen Donnelly: In fairness, it is a political question.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: New National Maternity Hospital: Discussion (11 May 2022)
Stephen Donnelly: It is a political question. The Senator is making reference to the Taoiseach. I am more than willing-----
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: New National Maternity Hospital: Discussion (11 May 2022)
Stephen Donnelly: When the Senator asks whether the Taoiseach's actions are ironic, in fairness, that is a political question.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: New National Maternity Hospital: Discussion (11 May 2022)
Stephen Donnelly: One of those clinical directors of midwifery is Ms Mary Brosnan. Would she like to come in on this?