Mary Fitzpatrick (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for his reply. I fully acknowledge and value the commitment the Government and the Minister of State have given to the Rotunda. I also acknowledge the significant funding that has already been provided but I am disappointed with his reply. It is very disappointing that we are at the end of this year without a design team being announced. This tender process commenced at the start of this year and engaged not just the hospital, the HSE and staff within the Department, but external private companies that engaged in the tendering process and that have been told whether they have been successful or unsuccessful. I do not understand the inertia or how long the health sector approval process will take. How long is it? Is it a piece of string? It is not any way for the State to conduct its business.

Everybody and every business has been under pressure during the Covid pandemic. When organisations respond to the State's request to produce a tender, they do so in good faith and they expect to be responded to and advised in a prompt manner. Apart from them, the women of Dublin and our country deserve better. I urge the Minister of State to go back to the Department of Health and ask its officials to make a decision on this. They know who the successful tender applicants were. They should make a decision and make it public. We need to move on with this without any further delay.