IRELAND
Kildare Nationalist
THURSDAY, APRIL 20, 2017
The Government is being accused of showing a total disconnect with Irish women in handing ownership of the new National Maternity Hospital to the Sisters of Charity.
A demonstration will take place outside the Department of Health in Dublin this lunchtime.
An ‘Uplift’ petition has already attracted tens of thousands of signatures in a bid to block the move.
Organisers say they have a clear message for the Minister for Health, that Ireland wants well-funded, State-run public services, that are not owned by the church, big corporations, or anyone else.
Survivors of the Magdalene Laundries say they are “shocked and angered” at the decision to hand over ownership of the new National Maternity Hospital to the religious order as part of a deal for the land at the site.
Millions of euro are still owed by the church in compensation to victims of institutional abuse.
Opposition parties have claimed there could be a conflict between medical decisions, the possibility of new abortion legislation, and the new owners’ Catholic values.
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