Rónán Mullen (Independent) | Oireachtas source

As soon as I think of a better phrase, I will offer it to the House. The question strikes at the heart of the Government in view of the political damage caused by the abandonment of the previous Mater site. Surely any examination of the cost overruns must address whether the choice of the St. James's site is part of what caused the problem.It is certainly possible, if not likely, that the complexity of building the hospital in a congested city centre location, rather than on a greenfield site, is what has caused the escalating costs. The Minister was unable to deal with that question satisfactorily when I asked him in the Joint Committee on Health. The Minister's defence of the choice of site at this point is that there can be no further delays to the project and that the new children’s hospital must be co-located with an adult teaching hospital. He will know that I do not rate him as a protector of children anyway in view of what happened in relation to abortion legislation and the endangering of children's lives.