Marc MacSharry (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Will the Leader investigate and report to us next week on the situation in respect of the exit from the bailout? There seem to be mixed messages coming from the IMF on the one hand and the troika on the other in terms of a perceived delay. We could do with having some clarity on that issue.

I propose an amendment to the Order of Business in order that the Minister for Health would come to the House and make a statement on the national children's hospital. It has come to our attention on this side of the House that there seems to be, at a very minimum, a stalling tactic being employed by the HSE and the Department of Health on this issue, and possibly a wish to opt out of the particular site at St. James's Hospital. It seems that at this late stage, instead of engaging teams to assist the board in advancing the project, the Department of Health has intervened to demand a traffic management survey be carried out. It is incredible that before the site was selected in the first place, such a traffic management survey would not have been engaged. It has been suggested to me that due to adjustments to be made to the brownfield site, the overall cost will now be prohibitive to the extent that the Department of Health is looking for an opt-out from this site. In parallel, An Taisce and others are promoting a greenfield site - or at least a much easier site to deal with - adjacent to the maternity hospital at the Coombe. There are serious concerns about whether this project will advance, how quickly it will advance and if we will ever see it. The Minister needs to clarify this position as a matter of the utmost urgency.