Halligan calls for ‘buy-out’ of maternity hospital site

Minister of State for Innovation John Halligan has said he will ask his Independent Alliance colleagues Shane Ross and Finian McGrath to raise the possibility of the State buying the site for the new National Maternity Hospital, when the Cabinet meets on Wednesday.

Mr Halligan is opposed to the National Maternity Hospital moving to a site at St Vincent’s hospital as the campus is owned by the Sisters of Charity. Mr Halligan said “no religious order should have anything to do with a hospital”.

The Waterford TD does not have a seat at Cabinet but Mr Ross and Mr McGrath do and Mr Halligan said he would ask them to put forward the plan to buy out the nuns’ interest in the land.

Speaking at Science Foundation Ireland in Trinity College on Tuesday Mr Halligan said he was sure the proposed maternity hospital move would be raised at the Cabinet meeting on Wednesday morning.

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Mr Halligan said he had “great concerns” for the availability of transgender realignment surgery, IVF treatment for couples trying to have children and for legal abortions, should the nuns be allowed to own the new €300 million maternity hospital.

“A solution could be that the nuns are asked to sell the land or failing that we could compulsorily purchase the site,” he said.

The Minister, who has been in the Netherlands for the past few days, said there had not been any discussion by the Independent Alliance on the issue of the location of the National Maternity Hospital at the St Vincent's hospital campus in advance of the agreement.

He said he was very unhappy with the prospect of the Sisters of Charity maintaining an interest in the new hospital.