I move:
That Seanad Éireann approves the following Order in draft:
Rotunda Hospital (Amendment of Charter) Order, 1972—a copy of which order in draft was laid before Seanad Éireann on 9th May, 1972.
Private Business. - Rotunda Hospital (Amendment of Charter) Order, 1972: Motion.
The order will remove the £1,000 limit on the total value of the land which the Rotunda Hospital may hold under its Charter dated 2nd December 1756, given during the regin of King George II. The present rateable valuation of the hospital is £2,970. Apart from the desirability of rectifying the anomalous situation, there is an immediate necessity to right it, in order that the High Court may make an order transferring the ownership of the Drumcondra Hospital, rateable valuation £240, to the Rotunda. This transfer is being made at the request of the Drumcondra Hospital and with the agreement of the Rotunda. The 28 beds in the Drumcondra Hospital will be used for the post-confinement care of selected mothers and their babies delivered at the Rotunda.
This is one of the measures being undertaken to ease the pressure on the maternity hospitals in Dublin. By using the Drumcondra Hospital in this way the mother and baby have the benefit of the full maternity hospital staff and facilities at the critical time; uneventful post-confinement is subsequently provided in good conditions without creating dangerous overcrowding in the parent maternity hospital. Section 76 of the Health Act, 1970, states that an order which it is proposed to make amending a hospital charter shall be laid in draft before each House of the Oireachtas and shall not be made until the resolution approving of the draft has been passed by each House.
I do not think the Seanad will have any difficulty in agreeing to what the Minister has proposed. The Rotunda Hospital has a long and very honourable history of service to the people of Dublin and, indeed, beyond them to the people of the whole country. We welcome any expansion of its activities and also welcome any removal of any limitations which existed in the original hospital charter. We will have no difficulty in agreeing to this motion. We hope that, not just in the years to come but in the centuries to come, the Rotunda Hospital will be able to continue to give the valuable service it has given in the centuries that have passed since its foundation.
I should like to support the motion because the Rotunda Hospital has given magnificent service over the years. There is just one point I should like to refer to. The Minister might enlighten me as to whether there is any restrictions or limitation in the charter regarding the appointment of a master. I have often heard that there was some limitation as to who could be appointed to the post. I should like to take this opportunity of clearing up that point. The Minister may not be in a position to answer at the moment but he may do so at some future date.
I will convey that information to the Senator at a future date.
Question put and agreed to.