Sisters of Charity urged to gift National Maternity Hospital site to State

The former master of the Coombe has called on the Sisters of Charity to voluntarily hand over the land where the new national maternity hospital is set to be built to the Government in a bid to end the controversy over the site.

Professor Chris Fitzpatrick urged the action “in the national interest” as the master of Holles St, Dr Rhona Mahony, insisted that concerns of alleged religious interference in the new hospital are a “sideshow” that risks blocking the facility from being developed.

Speaking on RTÉ radio, Prof Fitzpatrick said the only way to resolve widespread concerns over the new hospital is for the land to be sold to the State.