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Campaigners have claimed women's healthcare will be in "greater jeopardy than ever before" if the Government do not retain full ownership of the new National Maternity Hospital.

The new hospital is to be built at Elm Park, on the site of the St Vincent's Hospital campus. The site is owned by the Religious Sisters of Charity.

Campaigners are concerned that services such as abortion and IVF treatment will not be available at the new facility if it is run under a religious ethos.

Department of Health officials say the new hospital will be completely independent but campaigners, who held a protest on Saturday over the issue, remain unconcvinced.

Chairperson of the Campaign Against Church Ownership of Women's Healthcare, Jo Tully, said: "The suggestion that services forbidden by the Catholic Church will be provided in a building owned by a private Catholic company, in a hospital managed by another private Catholic company, is absurd.

"We are calling upon the Government to cease its fruitless negotiations with these private Catholic entities.

"The State must own and manage the hospital it is going to build. There is no other way to ensure access to abortion and other services prohibited by the Church."

An agreement has been reached between the St Vincent’s Healthcare Group and the National Maternity Hospital (NMH) on the relocation of the NMH to the Elm Park campus.

(Image: Collins Photo Agency)





The terms of the agreement provide for the establishment of a new company - The National Maternity Hospital at Elm Park DAC.





A Department of Health spokesperson told Dublin Live: "The new company will have clinical and operational, as well as financial and budgetary independence in the provision of maternity, gynaecology and neonatal services.



"The Sisters of Charity announced in May 2017 that they intend to have no ownership or role in relation to St.Vincent’s Healthcare Group."



The spokesperson added that the Department has been advised that the Sisters of Charity and St Vincent’s Healthcare Group are advanced in making the necessary legal changes to allow the new company to be established.

These changes require the approval of the Charities Regulator.



The Department of Health is also engaging with the hospitals in relation to the legal framework required to protect the State's investment in the new hospital.





"Details have been provided to the hospitals for consideration and engagement is ongoing to achieve the necessary agreement," said the spokesperson.

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"Progress in relation to all these elements will allow the investment decision in the hospital to be made with clarity as to the ownership/governance of the participating parties, the State’s ownership of the building constructed with its resources and the governance arrangements for the National Maternity Hospital at Elm Park DAC."



Minister for Health, Simon Harris, said: "The National Maternity Strategy and the National Development Plan have all prioritised the relocation of the four remaining stand-alone maternity hospitals to the sites of tertiary general hospitals. It is really important that we get this right.





"This includes clarity on three areas - changes in the ownership/governance of the participating parties, the State’s ownership of the building and finalisation of the governance arrangements for the National Maternity Hospital at Elm Park DAC itself.



"My Department and the two hospitals are working extraordinarily hard in ensuring this facility is built but from my perspective progress on the remaining elements is important in concluding this investment decision."