The last time I raised this issue, the Tánaiste answered by begging more questions than he actually answered. It is on the ownership of the national maternity hospital. I asked about the possibility of placing a compulsory purchase order on the land and the legal advice received from the senior counsel, Stephen Dodd. In his answer the Tánaiste described a situation in the national maternity hospital that would see us integrating the new hospital into St. Vincent's hospital holdings rather than co-locating. The best example of co-location is the national children's hospital on the grounds of St James's Hospital. It does not matter whether there is a corridor joining the two buildings. It is irrelevant.

The second question his answer begged was when he mentioned there could be a loss of goodwill. He really needs to address this, or at least the Government does. Is it a hint that we may lose the support of the St. Vincent's holding company because its ethos is still based on its original Catholic founder? Where does this leave the women and the future of maternity care in this country? From a purely financial point of view, and the expenditure of €800 million and probably more on a new hospital, would it not be in the financial interests of the State to own the land?

I will ask the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, to come back to the Deputy on the specific issue of the ownership. I reiterate the point that has been made by the Minister and others in recent months, which is we will only be investing in a new hospital once we have absolute assurance that all legal services available in the State will be provided in that hospital and that it will be free of any religious ethos or influence in this regard. This is the absolute bottom line of the Government in this regard. A substantial amount of public money is required. We want to get this done because we recognise a new national maternity hospital is required. It is urgent for the women and babies of Ireland. The Government is committed to doing this. I will ask the Minister to revert directly to the Deputy on the specific ownership question.