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 – and 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 millions of euro are still owed by the church in compensation to victims of institutional abuse and they’re ‘shocked and angered’ at the decision to hand over ownership of the new Maternity Hospital to the Sisters of Charity, as part of a deal for the land at the site.
Opposition parties have claimed there could be a conflict between medical decisions, the possibility of new abortion legislation, and the new owners’ Catholic values.
The demonstration is taking place outside the Department of Health, at Hawkins House, in Dublin city centre at 1pm today.
