Cabinet Ministers are facing pressure not to sign off on proposals from Health Minister Stephen Donnelly to develop the National Maternity Hospital at the St Vincent's Hospital campus.
Minister Donnelly is bringing the memo to Cabinet on the basis that protections have been put in place to ensure clinical independence at the new maternity hospital and it will lead to a substantial improvement in women's healthcare.
But Social Democrats co-leader said Cabinet Ministers should not sign off on the deal before greater scrutiny is carried out.
READ MORE: Government must buy National Maternity Hospital land, Labour leader Alan Kelly says
The Religious Sisters of Charity last Thursday said they had transferred its shareholding in St Vincent’s Healthcare Group (SVHG) to St Vincent’s Holdings, a new company.
Ms Shortall said there is no justification to hand over an asset to a private company that little is known about.
The nuns had to get approval from the Vatican to transfer its shareholding.
Ms Shortall said: “My view at this stage is this issue is primarily about money - I’ve come to that conclusion, it’s also about private medicine and the promotion of catholic influence in healthcare..”
The project is going to cost around €1 billion, she said all of the issues surrounding the company can only be described as “murky,” due to little knowledge about it.
Sinn Fein’s health spokesman David Cullinane said the Cabinet "should not sign off on the new National Maternity Hospital without Oireachtas scrutiny of the legal framework".
In a tweet, he said: "This is too important. We cannot be expected to take a leap of faith without proper scrutiny. The ownership of the land and hospital are crucial issues."
The former master of the National Maternity Hospital in Dublin, Dr Peter Boylan has written to Taoiseach Micheál Martin about his ongoing serious concerns at plans to relocate the hospital to the grounds of St Vincent’s Hospital in Dublin.
Dr Boylan raised a number of issues which he said need to be clarified to ensure the independence of the new hospital and guarantees of no religious interference to curtail the services it will deliver, such as termination of pregnancies.
Cabinet are meeting later this evening where Minister Donnelly is seeking approval on the memo from Government colleagues.
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