State is ‘happy to buy’ maternity hospital site

TÁNAISTE Leo Varadkar has said the State is willing to buy the site where the proposed new maternity hospital is to be built on the grounds of Dublin’s St Vincent’s Hospital.

The site has been the subject of a long-running row because it was owned by the Sisters of Charity religious order of nuns until it was transferred to a charity called St

Vincent’s Holdings. The transfer was done because of concerns that the new maternity hospital would be operated according to Catholic ethos and beliefs.

And last week it emerged that although the nuns were not approached about selling the land, the charity overseeing the management of the site had ruled out selling the land during discussions with Department of Health officials.

Yesterday, while speaking to journalists before addressing the virtual Fine Gael Ard Fheis, Mr Varadkar said: ‘In terms of red lines for us this hospital has to be publicly owned and it has to be the case that any obstetric or gynaecology services legal in the State has to be available.

‘They are our absolute red lines. The State would be happy to buy the site if possible.

‘If they are willing to sell, we are willing to pay.’

It is believed that the proposed new hospital will cost as much as €800m to build and the proposed site sits on one of the most expensive real estate plots in Dublin so acquiring the site on the open market would push the price of the hospital up considerably.

The original cost of the proposed hospital was €150m in 2013 but the plan has been plagued by rows over whether the Catholic order of nuns would be involved in running and managing the hospital.