Statement from Councillor Janet Horner on Planning Refusal for new Rotunda Critical Care Unit
Green Party Councillor, and Rotunda Hospital board member, Janet Horner has criticised the rejection of a critical care unit for women and infants at the Rotunda Maternity Hospital. Speaking this morning, Cllr Horner said:
“The refusal of planning permission for the critical care wing of the Rotunda Hospital has been bitterly disappointing, most especially for the board, which I am proud to sit on. The board has fought for the development of the wing to deliver the standard of life-saving care in the dignified environment that women and babies need.”
Councillor Horner also called on the Minister for Health to reassess plans to relocate the unit to Blanchardstown hospital
“The current government plan to relocate the hospital to Blanchardstown is not viable. This unit belongs in the heart of the city serving vulnerable communities. In the past few years, a new premises has been opened on North Earl Street and another is due for Dominick Street - cementing its place in this part of the city.
Plans for a critical care wing must be resubmitted soon and an accelerated process must be put in place so that this infrastructure can be delivered as soon as possible. All parties - planners, the Council, heritage officers etc must work together to ensure that a plan can be brought forward that will allow the hospital to flourish in the heart of the city - where it belongs.”
Cllr Horner, who is also the Green Party candidate for the forthcoming Dublin Central by-election highlighted the importance of the Rotunda to the plans to reinvigorate the Parnell Street area including Parnell Square as a cultural quarter:
“Parnell Square is a valuable part of Dublin's Georgian heritage. In the coming years, it will become the Parnell Cultural Quarter home to a world class city library, the Hugh Lane Gallery, along with the Poetry Museum and the Garden of Remembrance. We need to cherish the heritage of the square and ensure it is a part of the city we all can be proud of. But the part of the square we should all be most proud of is the hospital - the longest serving maternity hospital in the world, supporting marginalised women and families for over 250 years and delivering almost 1 million babies (including me!).”
ENDS
