IRELAND
The Journal
DELVING INTO THE history of St Vincent’s Hospital provides an interesting viewpoint from which to analyse current agreements relating to the transfer of the National Maternity Hospital to the Elm Park site.
Of particular interest are the terms of the original agreement to fund the construction of St Vincent’s Hospital and its amendment in the period 1965-1972. In 1954, the State agreed to provide £1.35 million to fund the construction of a new St. Vincent’s hospital.
According to its terms, if the hospital was not built or if, when built, its use as a hospital was discontinued, the Sisters of Charity were to repay the amount of the grant. If the hospital continued for more than 30 years after the payment of the final installment of the grant for its construction, the obligation to repay the State ceased.
A similar arrangement
This arrangement has parallels to the proposed lien over the new National Maternity Hospital at the Elm Park site.
According to Dáil records from 1972, Dr Noel Browne (then of Labour) referred to a further important condition in the 1954 agreement. The old St Vincent’s Hospital at St Stephen’s Green was to continue to be used as a public hospital. If the Sisters of Charity sold the St Stephen’s Green hospital, the proceeds of sale were to be transferred to the Hospital Trust Fund.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.