Martin Conway (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Minister is very welcome to the House. I acknowledge the significant challenges he faces and his dedication to the portfolio he holds, which is probably one of the hardiest portfolios in government. We are here today to talk about the new national maternity hospital and women's health in general.

I will start by commenting on the national maternity hospital. It is a very good thing and is long overdue. The Government has committed to building the facility and providing the €1 billion or more it will probably cost to build. There were concerns, and I was one of those who raised them. I was not the only one. Ministers in government also raised concerns. That is why the Minister, along with the Cabinet, correctly decided to defer the decision for two weeks to allow for further consultation, engagement, discussions, clarifications and the provision of information.That was a good thing. I am a member of the Joint Committee on Health, which engaged on the issue for 12 or 13 hours between public and private meetings. We engaged with the Minister for four and a half hours. That was a positive meeting because the Minister and the team at the committee provided quite an amount of information. That meeting brought clarity to many people. It was an open discussion and in no way disrespectful. People with strong views aired and exchanged them and I believe that clarity was provided.

Of course, the situation is not ideal. The Religious Sisters of Charity should have provided the facility as a gift, as had been mooted. In fact, it was not far off being agreed before the situation suddenly changed. As the Minister rightly said, the land was not for sale at the time so we were not in a position to buy it. As a result of that, we are now dealing with a complex legal structure. Although a lease is in place for 299 years, it remains a complex legal structure involving companies, landholdings and so on. However, I believe the assurances that have been put into the record of the health committee in particular have a legal standing because they put the plan and programme around the lease into context. I believe the fact that the context has been put into the record of the House will stand the test of time. That was a useful exercise.

There is a lot of confusion about the golden share. The Minister might like to comment on the matter and bring more clarity.

The project is going ahead and I want to be sure there will be no delays. The Government has decided to go ahead at the site on the St. Vincent's campus. The Minister might give us a timeline as to what he expects to happen in year one, two and three. When does he expect construction to actually begin? When will the tender process end? I know we have planning permission, which is great. How long will the tender process take? How long will the construction process take? As I said, we need to drive the project on as quickly as possible because it is needed.

Speaking of maternity hospitals, I draw his attention to the fact that the maternity hospital in Limerick also needs to be upgraded. I know that plans are in place to move it to the campus of University Hospital Limerick. The Minister might advise the House as to where we are with that plan. No more than the women who use the facility in Holles Street, the women who use the facility on the Ennis Road in Limerick are using an old building where numerous people are sharing one room. I do not believe the building is fit for purpose. The care that is provided there is second to none and I know many of the midwives who work there. However, the new facility is needed to serve the entire mid-west region, including counties Kerry, Clare, Limerick, Tipperary and elsewhere. I would be interested in the Minister's views.

I will move to consider women's health in an overall sense. An awful lot has happened in that regard. We need to pay tribute to and to thank the task force on women's health that was set up by the Minister's predecessor, Deputy Harris. The task force has done great work. It is something to which we are all committed. It is part of the ethos of Sláintecare. It has full, cross-party political buy-in. I welcome the fact that the Minister launched the programme on women's health in April.

I sincerely thank him and the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, for waiving all fees in respect of the HPV vaccine. I campaigned for that for two years. I believe the HPV vaccine saves lives. Ms Laura Brennan, from my own county, campaigned tirelessly on the issue. There was a significant issue with the catch-up because there was vaccine hesitancy with a small portion of first-year students or their parents. Now that the catch-up programme is being rolled out free of charge, there is no impediment to anybody getting the vaccine. In his summing up, the Minister might like to outline what format the catch-up programme is going to take, when he plans on rolling it out and where he plans on delivering it. The pharmacies could have a significant role to play in that regard. I would be interested to hear the Minister's beliefs and how his Department plans to roll out the catch-up programme.