The decision by An Coimisiún Pleanála to overturn planning permission for a €100 million critical care wing at the Rotunda Hospital has triggered anger across the political spectrum, with warnings that vulnerable babies and expectant mothers will pay the price.
The maternity hospital, the busiest in the State, had been granted permission by Dublin City Council in July 2025 to construct a four storey extension that would provide 80 additional hospital rooms and a new operating theatre.
The approval was later appealed by two third parties, and in an order dated February 9, 2026, An Coimisiún Pleanála refused permission, citing concerns that the development would cause irreparable damage to the character of Parnell Square.
Parnell Square West
The ruling has been met with fierce criticism from hospital management and politicians of all parties, many of whom argue that the board placed heritage considerations above urgent clinical need.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the Rotunda Hospital said the decision had come as a major blow.
“The Rotunda Board, Executive Management Team and all staff of the Rotunda Hospital are bitterly disappointed by the decision of An Coimisiún Pleanála, to refuse planning permission for the essential development of a Critical Care Wing,” the spokesperson said.
“In an Order dated 9 February 2026, An Coimisiún Pleanála decided not to accept the recommendations of its Inspector, the HSE and Dublin City Council to grant permission for its critical care wing development. This decision will have devastating consequences for the women and infants who trust us with
their care.”
Hospital management warned that the most vulnerable patients would be hardest hit.
“Most affected will be the tiny fragile premature infants who require prolonged, safe intensive care which should be provided in a modern 21st century neonatal intensive care unit.
“As Ireland’s busiest maternity hospital providing care to a quarter of the state’s premature and critically ill babies it is essential that we address the infrastructural deficits and spatial constraints in a timely fashion.
“This decision will not only create clinical risk for the most vulnerable cohort of patients in the health system but may have a national impact in terms of neonatal capacity.”
The hospital said the future of the project is now uncertain and that it will carefully consider its options.
Labour Leader Ivana Bacik TD raised the issue at Leaders’ Questions in the Dáil on Tuesday (17th).
She said the issue is putting women, babies and frontline healthcare workers at risk, and that it reflects a wider failure by Government to prioritise modern, fit-for-purpose healthcare infrastructure.
She called on the Taoiseach to provide immediate clarity on the future of the Rotunda and to ensure that planning and health authorities are aligned to deliver this essential project without further delay.
“This Government has allowed a critical care project, representing a one hundred million euro investment in neonatal and maternity services, to be stalled by a planning process of its own making,” she said.
“An Taoiseach’s response in the Dáil today was deeply disappointing.
“He side-stepped the core issue and failed to give any clear confirmation of the long-term plan for the Rotunda.
“His response to me does nothing to address the lack of accountability for how this situation arose or to reassure the families who need certainty now.”
Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns also raised the issue in the Dáil during Leader’s Questions, calling on the Taoiseach to clarify whether it remains official government policy to co-locate the Rotunda with Connolly Hospital, as envisaged in the 2016 National Maternity Strategy.
“A €100 million critical care unit at the Rotunda Hospital was supposed to be a gamechanger for women and babies.
“Instead, staff at Ireland’s largest and oldest maternity hospital have been left shocked after planning permission for this extension was turned down following an appeal to An Comisiún Pleanála,” she said.
“Having personally visited the Rotunda yesterday, it is difficult to comprehend how anyone could walk into the existing Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and deny that babies, parents and staff need more space.”
Cairns said the appeals board concluded that the unit did not represent “an overwhelming public benefit to justify the degree of heritage harm identified”.
“On what planet is the treatment of premature babies not an overwhelming public benefit?” she asked.
She also noted that the commission did not agree with its own inspector’s conclusion that the proposal represented an overwhelming public benefit, saying this was based on an understanding that it remained government policy to co-locate the Rotunda with Connolly Hospital in Blanchardstown.
“However, listening to the Minister for Health on RTÉ radio this morning, this is clearly not the case anymore and it seems the co-location plan has been quietly dropped,” she said.
“Given that the commission’s decision is partially based on outdated information, it is hard to understand why the government did not intervene earlier in the process.”
Fianna Fáil Senator Lorraine Clifford-Lee said she was “profoundly disappointed” by the decision, describing it as “frankly, ludicrous”.
“At a time when our maternity services are under sustained pressure, blocking much-needed capacity at the Rotunda defies common sense and ignores the lived reality of women and families across North Dublin and beyond,” she said.
Clifford-Lee pointed to recent overcrowding pressures which have resulted in women in labour being transferred outside Dublin in order to safely deliver their babies.
“It is unacceptable in 2026 that women in active labour are being transferred out of the capital because of capacity constraints.
“These are deeply stressful and frightening experiences for expectant mothers and their families. The proposed expansion would have directly addressed these pressures by providing additional rooms and enhanced surgical facilities,” she said.
Fine Gael TD Naoise Ó Muirí also criticised the refusal, saying the delay in delivering the critical care wing is “deeply disappointing”.
“The Programme for Government committed to further advancing the transformation of women’s maternity care, and the expansion of the Rotunda is an important part of this goal,” he said.
“The proposed extension to the Rotunda would provide an additional 80 hospital bedrooms and a new operating theatre, alongside specialist care for some of the most vulnerable in the country.”
Deputy Ó Muirí said the hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit treats some of the sickest and most premature babies in Ireland and described the current building as outdated and increasingly unsuited to demand.
“Supporting mothers and babies at this crucial stage is clearly in the public interest.
“While I fully recognise the importance of conservation, it cannot come at the cost of progress, or the delivery of safe and modern healthcare facilities,”
he said.