Mater won’t use public money to fund threatened action against author

THE Mater Hospital has insisted no public money will be used to fund a threatened legal action against patient rights campaigner, Janette Byrne.

The hospital, which claims Ms Byrne defamed it in her recently published memoir, If It Were Just Cancer, said it would not be funding the hiring of solicitors from the money it received to provide public medical services.

The hospital, set up by the Sisters of Mercy, is a voluntary hospital but is contracted by the Health Service Executive (HSE) to provide public services. In a statement, it said it was a private company and would bear any costs “without recourse to either public monies or private donations”.