Rotunda Hospital will stay in city centre and submit new expanded planning application

"The application will include two more elements - the critical care capacity for women expanding on the earlier application which was focused solely on infants. It will also include an enhanced Sexual Assault Treatment Unit."

"Enhancing critical care facilities on the Rotunda site will differentiate the Rotunda Hospital from the co-location policy because the full benefits of co-location can be achieved by the close proximity, the already established pathways to the Mater Hospital and the further strengthening with additional components of the application."

"The intention is to augment the already well-established critical care pathways between the Rotunda Hospital and the Mater Hospital by having new critical care capacity on site at the Rotunda. It is also important to recognise the site as an integral part of Dublin city centre, specifically for women, in all their needs."

The Rotunda Hospital's relocation plan to Connolly Hospital in Blanchardstown has been abandoned. Instead, the hospital will remain at its current Parnell Square location and maintain clinical partnerships with nearby Mater Hospital. A previous €100m critical care extension application was rejected by An Coimisiún Pleanála due to architectural and civic design concerns. Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill announced a new planning application will be submitted, expanding beyond the original infant-focused critical care proposal to include women's critical care capacity and an enhanced Sexual Assault Treatment Unit. The strategy leverages existing clinical pathways with Mater Hospital rather than pursuing co-location, positioning the Rotunda as an integral part of Dublin city centre serving women's comprehensive healthcare needs.

Read at Irish Independent