Daniel McConnell: We shouldn’t let our history imprison women’s health

'Calls for the lands to be compulsorily purchased may sound snappy and good, but so slow is our planning system that such a move is not guaranteed of success and would further delay this project substantially. And for what?'

Protesters outside Leinster House in Dublin against the ownership and governance structure of a new National Maternity Hospital.

The debate which has raged for the past two and a half weeks on the future of the National Maternity Hospital has (NMH), at times, been frustrating but has more often been simply perverse.

The Government’s decision to pause the approval of the move from Holles Street to St Vincent’s Hospital was done to allow documents related to the deal be published and for all the concerns held by people be fleshed out, amid some lingering concern among ministers.