Cabinet seeks 'outright ownership' of NMH site as sisters seek to retain it

The issue is to be debated in the Dáil on Wednesday

Pictured, foreground, is the Dermatology Department of St Vincent's University Hospital – this building currently occupies the site of the new National Maternity Hospital (NMH). This evening, St Vincent's Hospital Group rejected calls for the Government to purchase the site in order to ensure the NMH is fully publicly owned. Picture: Sasko Lazarov / RollingNews.ie

The Cabinet was told today that “outright ownership” of the site upon which the new National Maternity Hospital will be built was the optimal solution, just as the St Vincent’s Hospital Group (SVHG) said it must retain ownership of the land.

In a statement, the group said it is “more than willing” to meet the Government to discuss the relocation of the hospital from Holles Street.