State ownership of maternity hospital land would be ‘inappropriate’

It would be "inappropriate" for the State to own the land on which the new national maternity hospital will be built, a private meeting of the National Maternity Hospital (NMH) has been told.

Sources said that at the annual general meeting of the NMH on Wednesday, board member Stephen Vernon said that it would be "entirely inappropriate" for the State to have both a freehold and leasehold of the site.

The National Maternity Hospital is due to relocate from Holles Street to the campus of St Vincent’s Hospital.

The Government has said it wants to own the land on which the hospital will be built, rather than having a 99-year lease, which is envisaged. Ministers have also expressed concerns at what they say is insufficient State representation on the board that will govern the new hospital. The St Vincent's Healthcare Group has said it must retain ownership of the site on which the hospital will be built.

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Another senior board member is understood to have told the private meeting on Wednesday that the State, Holles Street and St Vincent’s Hospital have agreed to insert a legally binding term into the agreement for the relocation of the hospital that all procedures legally available in the State will happen in the new hospital.

He was speaking as campaigners continue to raise concerns about a potential religious influence or ethos in the new hospital. The Religious Sisters of Charity own the land on which the new hospital will be built, and they plan to transfer it to a new holding company, which will lease the land to the State.

The Sisters of Charity have said they will play no part in the company or running of the hospital, but campaigners say there are outstanding issues.

Senior clinicians in the NMH were briefed at the meeting on Wednesday about the status of the relocation project. Legal advisors to the NMH told the meeting they had no concerns about the planned new structures, sources said. They said that every procedure that is currently available in Holles Street will be available in the new hospital.

Legal advisors said it was their opinion that the lease would be very hard to terminate.

‘Golden share’

They also said the Minister for Health will have a “golden share” in the new company that will run the hospital, which will mean he effectively has a veto on any decisions made by the board that the Government is uncomfortable with.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin said earlier this week that he still has concerns around the governance of the new hospital.

The project has been mired in political controversy after the Government admitted there were a number of problems in proceeding with the relocation, primarily around governance and ownership.

Former master of the national maternity hospital Dr Peter Boylan is understood to have raised concerns at the meeting, sources say, around the proposed governance structure for the new hospital. He is also said to have raised questions around the business case for the move, which has yet to be formally submitted to the Department of Public Expenditure.

The meeting was told the HSE is in the process of approving that business case but that the Department wants to explore “alternative options”. There was no elaboration on what these options would be.