Approval for contract for first phase of National Maternity Hospital project

The contract for the first phase of the National Maternity Hospital project has been approved.

The Health Minister said St Vincent's Healthcare Group has also confirmed the process by which the Religious Sisters of Charity will transfer their shareholding and withdraw from the Group.

In a statement, Minister Harris said legal documents have been prepared to give effect to this agreement and will be finalised in the New Year.

"I am satisfied that the progress we have made, allows us to move forward," he said.

We have waited too long for this moment, but I am delighted that we have now reached a truly significant milestone, and excited that work will soon progress.

He said he is fully confident the new hospital will be owned by the State, that the National Maternity Hospital will be clinically and operationally independent and that no religious influence can, or will, be brought to bear on the new hospital.

"The comprehensive legal framework prepared, and the commitments received from both hospitals, mean that I am fully confident that the new hospital will be owned by the State, that the NMH will be clinically and operationally independent and that no religious influence can, or will, be brought to bear on the new hospital."

A statement from the National Maternity Hospital said they are "delighted" with the news.

We are delighted at this news, which means that construction will begin in 2019 on the new National Maternity Hospital.

"This state-of-the-art hospital will ensure that healthcare for future generations of Irish women and infants is of the highest international standard.

"We express our thanks and appreciation to the Minister for Health Simon Harris, the officials of his Department and of the HSE, and the St Vincent’s Hospital Group, all of whom have worked very hard to ensure that this clinically essential hospital will now become a reality."