Cabinet stops short of decision on National Maternity Hospital

The move comes after Dr Peter Boylan wrote to Taoiseach Micheál Martin citing concerns over religious influence on the new entity

 Dr Peter Boylan, the former master of the National Maternity Hospital. File picture: Colin Keegan

The Government has stopped short of endorsing a proposal to move the National Maternity Hospital to the St Vincent’s site.

The proposal had been brought to today’s Cabinet meeting by Health Minister Stephen Donnelly but it is understood that Fine Gael ministers asked for more time to consider the documents in the proposal.

The issue will be revisited in two weeks after Mr Donnelly publishes a number of documents related to the deal and discusses them with the Oireachtas Health Committee.

A Government statement said that the Cabinet had noted the finalised legal framework agreed with the HSE, St Vincent’s Healthcare Group and the NMH, which includes that the term of the lease of the site be 299 years and provides increased State representation on the board of the new NMH.

This will now include three independent public interest directors selected and appointed by Mr Donnelly, alongside three nominated by St Vincent’s University Hospital and three nominated by the NMH, with the role of chair to rotate between the three groups of nominees.

It was also agreed that Mr Donnelly will publish all the documents in relation to the agreement brief the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and report back with observations to Government shortly.

Mr Donnelly also asked the Government to note that the legal framework documents were approved by the boards of the NMH and St Vincent’s Healthcare Group; that “the framework will protect the State’s significant investment in the new NMH and copper-fasten the principle that any medical procedure which is in accordance with the laws of the land will be provided there”, and that “the clinical and operational independence of the new NMH will be underpinned by a combination of safeguards”.

Mr Donnelly also told Cabinet that the Religious Sisters of Charity transferred its shares in SVHG to St Vincent’s Holdings CLG, as of April 28, and “no longer have any involvement in SVHG”.