Deputy Bríd Smith of People Before Profit has said that the Government and the HSE will come under pressure from the opposition not to accept the new farcical deal reached by the State and the St. Vincent’s’ Hospital Group (SVHG).
Bríd Smith said in response to the statement from SVHG “The issue of the lease extension to 299 years, says it all about what is going on with the plans for a state-of-the-art National Maternity Hospital, to be run by the SVHG. The question needs to be addressed as to why SVHG are refusing to hand over this facility fully to the control of the State. This is a private company that will benefit from a huge investment by the State for a public facility.”
“We as taxpayers are being asked to make sense of complex and complicated commercial and legal arrangements. A lease for 299 years is farcical and creates an ambiguity as to who owns the hospital.”
“Post Repeal women deserve a guarantee of the full range of services that they are legally and morally entitled to. As long as this project remains shrouded in ambiguity and complexity no Government can guarantee the future for our maternity and reproductive health services.”
“Nothing less than a fully publicly owned and controlled maternity hospital is acceptable. The only route now is to CPO the land and proceed to deliver what the SVHG are refusing to give.”
People Before Profit will pursue this vigorously in the Dail, on the Oireachtas Health Committee and with the movement of people power that campaigned and won the right to choose in this country”