Chai Brady
The Department of Foreign Affairs will not contact the Vatican regarding their decision whether to allow the Sisters of Charity to sell Church-owned land to the Government, earmarked for the new National Maternity Hospital.
Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney was asked in the Dáil last week by Róisín Shortall TD whether his department was in contact with the Vatican regarding the issue.
Mr Coveney said he has “simply not been involved” in his ministerial capacity, adding that: “If there is a foreign affairs element to it, I can be brought into the conversation but I am not aware there is at the moment.”
This comes as The Irish Catholic revealed last week that there has been calls for the Vatican to veto the land sale due to the new hospital’s commitment to follow Irish law and facilitate abortion.
Under canon law, Irish religious bodies cannot sell or give away property worth over €3.5 million without permission from the Vatican.
Planning permission was granted in 2017 for the proposed maternity hospital on the site of St Vincent’s Hospital in Dublin.
Over the weekend the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Heather Humphreys, told the media she didn’t believe there would be an issue with the Vatican permission.
She said: “I do not believe that the Government’s plans will be thwarted in any way. The plans are in place and I am confident that they will go ahead.”