'Unusually high' protection for State in governance of new National Maternity Hospital, says Attorney General

Health Minister Stephen Donnelly has said that the Government has received legal advice that there is no guarantee that a compulsory purchase order of the site would succeed. Picture: Brian Lawless

The State will have “an unusually high” level of protection in the governance arrangements in the new National Maternity Hospital, the Government’s lawyer has concluded.

In what was described as a key intervention at Cabinet, the Attorney General Paul Gallagher reportedly told ministers that the 300-year lease and the secular nature of the board means the State has a level of comfort not normally seen.