Minister must deliver on details of agreement for maternity hospital

In some ways, the controversy over the ownership of the new maternity hospital is the most bizarre I’ve ever come across. And the reason is simple. We don’t know enough about it to make a judgement. In fact, we don’t know anything.

We don’t know, for example, what was negotiated between the existing hospitals and the Sisters of Charity. We don’t know what role, if any, the Department of Health played. We don’t even know what emerged from the negotiations.

Is it a contract, an agreement, a memorandum of understanding? What does it cover? Is it a land deal, a property deal, a governance arrangement, or a set of ethical standards? Or some or all of the above? How long is it intended to last — for five years, 10 years, in perpetuity?