Ivana Bacik (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister to the House. I also welcome the Bill, which has already been through the other House. The Bill is relatively straightforward and sets out its intention to repeal the National Lottery Act 1986 and make provision for various updates to that legislation. In addition, it will facilitate the competition for awarding the next licence.

The Minister of State, Deputy Brian Hayes, along with other speakers in this House, has pointed out that the Government has no discretion on whether to hold a competition for the next national licence. That is clearly a requirement but the competitive process does not preclude An Post, the current operator, from applying. The award of the licence will not be indefinite, it will be for a period of 20 years. One could say, therefore, that it is a lease rather than a sale.

In his speech, the Minister of State also referred to the important point which everyone has emphasised - that the terms of the next licence will include an up-front payment to the State which will help to fund the new national children's hospital. While others have expressed some doubts about the site, I welcome the decision to situate the facility on the grounds of St. James's Hospital. I had an interest in putting forward the Coombe Hospital, which is a bi-located site. It is where I had my two children so I had a personal interest, but I also felt that it had a lot to offer. I am delighted, however, that St. James's was chosen because it is in the same vicinity. It is an excellent site for many reasons, including the fact that St. James's is already a superb hospital and will add to the merits of the children's hospital being sited beside it. It will also have an important regenerative effect in a disadvantaged area.

The use of national lottery funds, in a difficult economic situation, to raise funds for this vital national resource is both imaginative and creative. As others have said, the decision on siting and building the children's hospital has dragged on for far too long. We do not have a great history with regard to children's hospitals. I refer to the recent TG4 documentary on Dr. Kathleen Lynn and the hospital for children that she ran. In this State we have never had a national children's hospital of which we can be proud and into which we could put all the up-to-the-minute resources. I very much hope, as we all do, that the new hospital will fulfil that function.

There are those who oppose the Bill, or the principle therein, but how else can we raise the money to build the new children's hospital?