Vol. 481 No. 4
156 Ms Fitzgerald asked the Minister for Health and Children the plans, if any, he has for the development of the Meath Hospital, Dublin 8, following the transfer of the main facilities to Tallaght Hospital, Dublin 24. [16455/97]
As the Deputy will be aware, the Meath Hospital is a voluntary hospital and as such has full ownership of its site. When the services transfer to Tallaght, the hospital site, like the sites of the Adelaide and the National Children's Hospital, will be sold as the premises will no longer function as acute hospitals. Since agreement was reached on the development of the new hospital — the Adelaide and the Meath Hospital, Dublin incorporating the National Children's Hospital — it has always been understood that the three constituent hospitals would close once the new hospital is opened. However, my Department, together with the Eastern Health Board and the hospitals concerned, is currently examining the health service needs of the south inner city catchment population following the transfer of the acute hospital services to Tallaght. The Eastern Health Board has identified the need to provide secondary rehabilitation, extended care and day hospital facilities for older people living in the area surrounding the Meath Hospital. The possibility of acquiring the Meath Hospital campus for these and other primary care services is being examined.
