IRELAND
Newstalk
Updated 21:05
Health Minister Simon Harris says the Sisters of Charity will receive no financial gain from the new National Maternity Hospital.
There have been protests and objections to putting the new facility into the ownership of the religious order.
The Sisters of Charity were party to a €128m redress scheme with the State in 2002 for child abuse, which took place at its industrial schools.
A report from the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) in December 2016 shows that the Sisters of Charity offered €5m towards the redress scheme – but have only paid €2m.
An online petition against the ownership has received more than 65,000 signatures.
There are also calls for a Dáil debate on the issue.
On Newstalk Drive this afternoon Minister Harris said the government will not proceed with the project unless the Department of Health is satisfied that the hospital will be free of religious interference and that the state’s investment will be 100% protected:
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