Sir, – Both the Tánaiste and Dr Peter Boylan have expressed doubts about the viability of the chosen site at St Vincent’s Hospital for relocation of the new National Maternity Hospital.
It is over 10 years since the concept of relocation of the National Maternity Hospital was mooted, and eight years since the St Vincent’s site was chosen.
This predated the introduction of abortion, gender realignment, and in vivo fertilisation. All these procedures are incompatible with the teaching of the Catholic Church. Not to mention surrogacy, gene manipulation, and whatever else will evolve in the coming decades.
It is clear that the site chosen at St Vincent’s is totally inappropriate as our politicians have stated that all procedures that are legal in the State must be provided at the new maternity hospital.
Mother Mary Aikenhead, the founder of the Sisters of Charity – the owners of St Vincent’s Hospital, would turn in her grave at the thought of what is proposed on the site.
The St Vincent’s site was chosen as it was recommended by KPMG in its report of 2008 that the new maternity hospital should if possible be close to a general hospital.
The RTÉ site is only a few hundred yards from St Vincent’s and rather than selling off further land to developers it would be an ideal location for the hospital. This concept was suggested by Patsy McGarry in an article on April 25th, 2017, in The Irish Times.
It is beyond belief that we are unable to develop new hospitals in a short time frame and on budget. St Vincent’s should never have been considered, as the site is already overcrowded, apart altogether from the ethical problems involved.
A basic premise of any new hospital development is to start with an adequate green-field site and avoid the fiasco of the National Children’s Hospital at St James’s. – Yours, etc,
JAMES M SHEEHAN,
( Founder of Blackrock,
Galway and Hermitage
Clinics),
Blackrock,
Co Dublin.