Devastating blow for hospital campaigners

THE chief executive of a national children’s charity who was calling for the new children’s hospital to be located at Connolly Hospital has admitted defeat following An Bord Pleanála decision to grant planning permission to built it at St James’s.

Jonathan Irwin, CEO and founder of the Jack & Jill Children’s Foundation, said he was “sad and disappointed” by the decision and added that it was now “time to move on”.

“I really thought that common sense would prevail having attended and made our case against this location at the oral hearings,” he said.

“I am disappointed for myself, but more so for the families under the wing of Jack & Jill.”

Irwin said An Bord Pleanála’s decision had to be accepted, albeit reluctantly, despite other campaigners vowing to fight on.

“We have made our point – loud and clear,” he added. 

“We have stood up for children with severe disabilities, children supported by Jack & Jill, who are frequent flyers to the children’s hospital. 

“We’ve expressed our concerns and have urged those concerned to switch to Connolly, but to no avail.

“Bear in mind that if the approved location had been Connolly we would have been the biggest cheerleaders on the sideline. And we have no vested interest in Connolly, except to say that it would be better for children.

“We’ve made our point. We’ve done our best. We lost. And now we’ve got to move on.”

Irwin was a key member of a coalition of parent and children’s organisations campaigning under the Connolly for Kids Hospital (C4KH) banner to locate the new hospital in Dublin 15.

Supporters of the group included the Jack & Jill Foundation, Mummypages.ie, the New Children’s Hospital Alliance and Dr James Sheehan, orthopaedic surgeon and founder of the Blackrock Clinic.

C4KH said last week its campaign was “far from over” and that it wouldn’t give up until “the first brick is in the ground”.

“We believe that the Government was wrong to have presented the St James’s site for consideration by An Bord Pleanála and that it remains the responsibility of the new Government, not of Bord Pleanála, to the children of Ireland of this and future generations to change the site,” a spokesperson said.

“This is the educated opinion of members of the C4KH group. 

“The position of the constituent groups within the C4KH organisation is unaltered by this decision on the St James’s campus, the only site on which it was within its brief to comment.

“C4KH continues to call urgently on the Government to change its decision, to respect the will of the people of Ireland and to change the site to the Connolly campus.”

Last week’s decision to approve the St James’s project was welcomed by Dublin West TD and Minister for Health, Leo Varadkar.

 “This is fantastic news for all the children of Ireland – it will produce a state of the art hospital of which everyone can be proud,” he said.