Joanna Tuffy (Labour)

Will the Leader invite the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children to participate in a debate in this House on the proposals for a new children's hospital to replace Temple Street Children's University Hospital, Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children in Crumlin and the children's hospital in the Adelaide and Meath Hospital, now situated in Tallaght Hospital? It may be a good proposal but its details must be clarified as soon as possible in the interests of the doctors and nurses working in the hospitals and, most important, the parents and children attending them. They need to know where the new hospital will be sited, when it will be built, how quickly it will be built and what will happen to the existing hospitals in the meantime. Will these hospitals be assisted as far as possible in carrying out their functions in the meantime? Many people have invested in the proposals for the redevelopment of Temple Street Children's University Hospital and Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children. These people were forced to endure impediments like unsuitable buildings for many years but were beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. They now find that these plans are no longer on the table. Therefore, it is extremely important that we discover exactly what is proposed and that all necessary measures are carried out quickly and efficiently.