Minister says Tallaght could be site of new National Maternity Hospital instead of St.Vincent’s

He said he "bumped into Simon Harris" at the shops who suggested Tallaght hospital "might be an option".

Peter Boylan has said that Tallaght Hospital could be the site of the new National Maternity Hospital (NMH) instead of St.Vincent's Hospital.

The former master of the NMH revealed that a Cabinet Minister informed him that the proposed location of the new maternity hospital may be changing.

The plan to relocate the hospital from Holles Street in Dublin City Centre to the St Vincent’s campus at Donnybrook has been highly controversial after the State’s attempts to buy the land was shot down by the St Vincent’s Healthcare Group.

Now, speaking on RTÉ’s DriveTime programme, Boylan said that Minister for Higher Education Simon Harris told him that "Tallaght might be an option" when he "bumped into" him at the shop.

“I think the Government are considering a plan B, and let me tell you why I say this. Last Saturday I was out returning from the shops when I bumped into Simon Harris," he said.

"We discussed the issue of the hospital. He suggested that possibly Tallaght might be an option. That makes me think the Government are considering a plan B.”

He added that Tallaght had the space for the relocation, adding that "everything has changed" in the last number of days.

“The ownership of the land is critical, and everything flows from that. There is no way that the Sisters of Charity will be able to hand over ownership of the land without the permission of the Vatican," he continued.

"The Vatican will not give permission to build a hospital in which abortions will take place.

“In the last few days, everything has changed. This has been going on for years.”