Government under fire over nuns’ ownership of new hospital

By Mary Minihan
Irish Times
April 18, 2017

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/government-under-fire-over-nuns-ownership-of-new-hospital-1.3053284

Simon Harris: “Independence of maternity hospital will be copperfastened by reserved powers and golden share held by Minister for Health.” Photo by Dara Mac Dónaill

Minister for Health Simon Harris has insisted his “golden share” in the new €300 million State-funded national maternity hospital means the public interest will be protected and the facility will operate independently.

Opposition politicians have been critical of the fact that a religious congregation is to be the owner of the hospital, which is to be built on a site at Elm Park in south Dublin.

The Sisters of Charity, a congregation which has failed to date to provide its share of funds to a redress scheme for institutional abuse victims, are the shareholders of the St Vincent’s Healthcare Group (SVHG).

Mr Harris tweeted on Tuesday: “New maternity hospital will have full clinical, operational, financial & budgetary independence, free of any religious or ethnic influence.”

He added: “Independence of the maternity hospital will be copperfastened by reserved powers and golden share held by Minister for Health of day.”

When challenged by a Twitter user, he said the public interest would be “entirely” protected.

Independent board

Meanwhile, Dr Rhona Mahony, master of the National Maternity Hospital (NMH) at Holles Street in Dublin, said the new hospital would be “dedicated solely to providing maternity care for women and infants”.

“It will be operated by a new company with an independent board and will be clinically and operationally entirely independent in line with national maternity policy,” she said. “The current facility is not fit for purpose. The colocation of this hospital with an adult tertiary hospital will revolutionise healthcare in Ireland for women and infants.”

Labour health spokesman Alan Kelly said buildings funded by the State should be owned by the State.

“Given the events of recent weeks, not to mention the failure of religious congregations to meet their share of the cost of redress, it seems extraordinary to see the State continuing to fund an increase in the asset values of those same congregations,” he said.

‘Deep insensitivity’

Social Democrats co-leader Róisín Shortall said it was “highly inappropriate for the State to allow a religious congregation, or any private interests, to be the owner of a hospital. It is very hard to see how there could be any rationale for this transaction.”

Ms Shortall said the congregation’s failure to provide its share of funds to the redress scheme further compounded the issue, “as it shows a deep insensitivity towards abuse survivors”.

The Department of Health said that late last year the NMH Holles Street and SVHG agreed a governance structure for the new national maternity hospital involving the establishment of a new company.

In a statement, the department said the new company would have clinical and operational independence in the provision of maternity, gynaecology and neonatal services “without religious, ethnic or other distinction, as well as financial and budgetary independence”.

“This independence will be assured by the reserved powers which are set out in the agreement and which will be copperfastened by the golden share which will be held by the Minister for Health.”

The board of the new hospital will comprise nine directors, four nominated by SVHG, four by NMH, including the master, and one will be an international expert in obstetrics and gynaecology.