Frances Fitzgerald (Fine Gael)

The Minister in her contribution said she did not understand the controversy. The main concerns of the ordinary people of the country and the parents of sick children have been about access to the centre city site. This is fuelled by the fact that the outpatients' departments in Crumlin, Temple Street and Tallaght hospitals each deal with 30,000 children a year. The country also has a growing population with an increasing urban population. The concerns about access and the prospect of the closing of the other hospitals have been central. There are other concerns but these are the key concerns. I refer to the critical timeframe of 60 minutes within which to get a sick child to hospital, the so-called golden hour. There is a worry about accessing the Mater hospital site and whether there will be sufficient parking spaces. I acknowledge some children will be brought in for specialist treatment and the Minister referred to the use of helicopters. I do not know how feasible this will be or how many children such a service will affect. The key issue is about easy access for other children to the site. Public transport is difficult to use if one is bringing a sick child to hospital so the number of car parking spaces is critical if people are to feel safe when travelling to the hospital and are able to get there quickly.

The project has been dogged by controversy with regard to the site and access to it, with regard to the process and funding and with regard to a number of other issues. I accept the Minister's bona fides on her wish to do the very best for sick Irish children and I do not doubt her motivation. I believe she will be supported in her desire to achieve this. We all know about the existing facilities, the lack of rationalisation over many years and the resistance from professionals. These problems are evident in schools and hospitals and everywhere, even in the system that pertains in the Houses of the Oireachtas. None of it has been in the interests of children. It is a shame that such a key project has been so mired. I refer to the move of the Coombe hospital to Tallaght which will take place and which has been achieved by agreement. It has not attracted any of the kind of controversy that has dogged this project and this site.

I ask for information about some of the current concerns, if not today then in writing at a later date. The Minister referred to the ambulatory care centre in Tallaght. This is a key project, given the numbers of children attending the various hospitals. Is the funding in place for this project and will it be in place? There was discussion in this House previously about whether this would be an eight-hour, 12-hour or 24-hour facility. I assume it will be a 24-hour facility - it has been called a 23-hour facility because it is not intended to be an overnight facility. Will the Minister accept that, in effect, some children will inevitably need to stay overnight? A certain number of children will require anaesthesia or intervention and will too ill to be moved. There is no doubt that the facility will need to provide overnight care for some group of children.

I expect there will be substantial demand on that facility, given the numbers I have quoted and the fact that one accident and emergency department will not address the needs of the entire city, plus the children coming from around the country. My questions about this facility are about the timeframe. Can the Minister reassure the many parents whose children will be attending that facility from west Dublin and beyond that it will be available at the same time as the hospital on the Mater site? Are plans in train for the facility? What is the timeframe for funding? Will it provide 24-hour care? These are critical questions.

I refer to a recent survey of the public attitude to the Mater site for the hospital which showed it received very little national support. What is the Minister's view on the transport and access issues? What is the message to parents? It is clear the public need much more information if it is to be convinced of the merits of the site. People in general and parents in particular are worried that the Mater site is too centre-city and that parking will be too difficult.

Many people noted the recent disagreement between the Minister and the chair of the board, Mr. Philip Lynch, who resigned or, depending on whom one believes, was asked to resign by the Minister. He said he was not satisfied he would be able to raise questions he wished to raise and he was either forced to resign or resigned because he raised questions he believed should be addressed. The Minister has issued a statement on this matter but I ask her to take the opportunity today to address his concerns. The funding gap is clearly a key concern.

I have come from a briefing by the Jack and Jill Foundation. The Minister has said that philanthropy would hopefully supply a funding of €110 million. The Jack and Jill Foundation funds care for extremely ill children in their own homes. It states that over the past two years, donations are down by 25% while nursing bills are up by 40%. One would imagine philanthropic organisations willing to support sick children would be able to raise that kind of funding and one, therefore, wonders about the reality of the funding of €110 million at this time in Ireland. That is not to say it is not feasible to raise it but given the financial situation and the great demands on all charitable organisations and the drop in donations, is it realistic to think that within two years a total of €110 million will be available from those organisations? Where is the other €90 million? The proposed sum of €90 million to be raised by the coffee shop and parking charges seems like a lot of money.