Cabinet backs new children's hospital plan
The Government today gave its full backing to the establishment of the new National Children’s Hospital beside Dublin’s Mater Hospital.
The controversial 400-bed facility is due to cost €500m and be built by 2011.
Minister for Health Mary Harney aims to merge the three existing children’s hospitals, Our Lady’s Hospital for Sick Children in Crumlin, Temple Street Children’s Hospital and the National Children’s Hospital in Tallaght, at the Eccles Street site.
The boards of the hospitals in Crumlin and Tallaght have refused to support the plan even though Temple Street has agreed with the proposals.
Ms Harney today provided a detailed briefing on the controversial issue to the Cabinet, which was missing the Taoiseach and three ministers, who are on a Middle East trade mission.
The site-selection taskforce had identified and assessed the proper criteria and made an independent decision, Ms Harney said.
She added: “The Government is determined to proceed with this project and is focused on putting children first.”
Her spokesman added: “The Cabinet strongly reaffirmed the decision. This is the Government position now.”
International hospital planners RKW have been hired to begin the design of the new hospital, which Ms Harney hopes will have the input of paediatric staff from Crumlin and Tallaght.
Ms Harney told the Cabinet that the new Metro North line would offer easy access to the new facility for patients and staff.
Earlier, the medical board of Temple Street Hospital said it would not be in the best interest of children to engage in inter-hospital arguments, which might delay the building of a badly-needed facility.
Opposition leader Enda Kenny said he was suspicious about the site-selection process and called for an independent review to be carried out within two months.
The party also claimed that the decision to site the hospital on the Mater campus could have been made as many as five years ago.
It produced a September 2002 letter from the Taoiseach to then Minister for Health Micheál Martin in which Mr Ahern said that “the intention is to move Temple Street onto the Mater campus and to provide a state-of-the-art children’s hospital for North Dublin and indeed the country.”
