Decision on site of children's hospital due in two weeks

A FINAL decision on the location of the new national children’s hospital will be taken within two weeks, Taoiseach Enda Kenny has told the Dáil.

He dismissed claims by Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin there had been a breakdown in trust between the coalition partners in the ongoing controversy about the site of the hospital.

Mr Martin’s allegation followed a report in the Irish Independent yesterday that Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore had bypassed Minister for Health James Reilly to investigate for himself the best site for the new hospital.

Mr Gilmore’s advisers met competing bidders to discuss the best location for the hospital.

Mr Martin said Mr Gilmore “is doing his own independent research into the preferred location” for the new hospital. He said the Tánaiste and his advisors were doing their own report and appeared to indicate they did not trust the Minister to make the right decision.

The Taoiseach insisted, however, he did not deal in “anonymous reports” and said the Government was considering one report only in deciding the location of the new hospital.

The Minister for Health commissioned an expert group to investigate and analyse all competing bids. The Dolphin group report made a recommendation for its preferred hospital in the document Dr Reilly received during the summer.

Mr Kenny said the decision on the hospital would be made in the next two to three weeks but later confirmed it would be announced within the next two weeks.

He insisted among heated exchanges that outside advice would not be considered. The Minister for Health would brief both the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste on the Dolphin report and its recommendations on the preferred site, which would then be brought to Cabinet for a decision.

Questioned later outside the House about bypassing the Minister, Mr Gilmore insisted there was no breakdown in trust between himself and Dr Reilly. He said there was nothing out of the ordinary in him making sure he was fully informed and briefed about the issue, for which the main bidders are St James’s, Connolly and the Mater hospitals.

In the Dáil, Mr Martin claimed the Tánaiste’s actions in “pursuing this independent track” further isolated Dr Reilly and undermined his role and position.

Mr Kenny said the Dolphin report was commissioned by the Minister and he “has been considering it for some time. Inevitably questions arise from elements of that.” But Mr Martin said it was not good enough for the Taoiseach to talk about “anonymous sources” because it was “clear as blue water where it is coming from. It came from the Labour Party.” The Fianna Fáil leader said it was an open secret the Minister had approached Beaumont Hospital to make a submission on the Belcamp site while other Ministers had openly promoted Blanchardstown.

He wanted the Taoiseach to ensure that party political considerations would not dictate the outcome.

Mr Kenny said the Government would make the best attempt it could at doing the right thing “in respect of the children of the country”.

He recalled “all of the politics that surrounded a predecessor of mine when he said ‘Oh and by the way you will have the children’s hospital here as well’. There was far too much politics involved in all of this.”

Mr Martin replied that there was no evidence to sustain that.

The Taoiseach said many questions had been asked about individual issues and “that is the process. It is a Government decision, a Government process. The Minister will bring his recommendations and Government will make its decision.”

Later outside the House the Tánaiste insisted there was no question of a lack of trust and the issue was about “making sure that we make the best decision in the interests of the public”.