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Dublin: 13 °C Wednesday 22 May, 2013

50-acre site for children’s hospital submitted to review group

A proposal to establish the National Paediatric Hospital on a 50-acre site at Lissenhall, Swords, claims the facility could be built in less time – and for less money – than at the Mater.

Image: Gareth Fuller/PA Archive/Press Association Images

A SUBMISSION TO build the National Paediatric Hospital on a 50-acre site at Lissenhall, Swords, County Dublin, has been made to the review group examining the project.

The review group was tasked with establishing the options now available to the government in light of An Bord Pleanála’s decision to refuse planning permission for the hospital on the site of the Mater Hospital in Dublin.

Broadmeadow Healthcare Group said that the Greenfield site of 50 acres was located within 600 acres of land highlighted for future development by Fingal Co Council, which included a vision for a hospital. The group said this offered scope to complete the project as early as 2016, and could also mean less funding than than €650 million already earmarked for the project would be required.

In its submission, the group said the key advantages of the proposed site included easy motorway access, being located just 900 metres off M1, and would also offer adequate parking with 2,000 spaces planned.

The proposed Lissenhall site would need to reach just 5 to 7 storeys in height, which would be an advantage over the other 15 to 17 storey high rise hospital design being considered.

It would also include family-friendly living facilities, as well as posing opportunities for a Biomedical and Biotechnology Campus, Training and University complex, according to the group.

Hospitals in new push backing Mater site for National Children’s Hospital>

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Comments (21 Comments)

  • No doubt it will be rejected since it seems to make sense!!!!

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  • A greenfield site is the best option for the children’s hospital whether it’s this option or the Coombe or tallaght either or those three are better than having a children’s hospital in the mater which has a bad parking problem now, which can only get worst if you add another hospital onto it.

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  • Definately better than the mater option!!

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  • Makes way more sense !

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  • Lissenhall is very near rush so the minister for health may just agree with this one.

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  • Sure then it won’t get built, because that makes sense and there won’t be a need for brown envelopes.

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  • Swords is as about as useful a location as Donegal.

    It’s impossible to reach by public transport from the rest of the country.

    The best option would seem to be somewhere near the M50 and the red LUAS line. Easy to reach by car and the LUAS will link it to Heuston, Connolly and Busaras for those who can’t get there by car.

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    • The return of the metro north maybe?

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    • Swords is beside the airport and it would be a stretch to say that it’s hard to get to there, buses run directly from all the major cities so I’m sure it wouldn’t be too hard to link into that. Lissenhall is only 5 min from there. Plus with foresight there’s a planned transport system that could get built in the future. I thought that they wanted it linked to another hospital though? To share facilities?

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  • A green field site may work if you think of a hospital in terms of what matters when you build a shopping centre: parking, access, convenience, etc. If, however, you are serious about achieving the best medical outcome for children, you locate a childrens’ hospital attached to an adult teaching hospital or close to a maternity hospital, in a high population density area ie Mater or James’ (with Coombe and Tallaght as outliers).

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    • SMcB 16/04/12 #

      And this is the point everyone misses in the discussion about the proposed children’s hospital – i.e. co location. If the parking situation wasn’t so chronic around the mater, the site would be a runner. As it stands, it’s hard to see how suitable it is.

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  • To be fair a hospital in Swords has been looked at before so don’t be so quick to assume O’Reilly has something to do with it.

    http://www.irishhealth.com/article.html?id=11544

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  • @Susie, Barry Kelly, Pani

    Yes, indeed, James Reilly is from Lusk/Rush. Yes, it may get passed, Yes, there will probably be foreign architects, engineers etc. maybe local labourers, bricklayers involved in it.

    The exit he’s talking about is a bitch to get on to from 4pm until about 7.15pm every evening. It’s the Only exit off the M1 between Swords and Balbriggan! This exit feeds traffic/families that live along the old Dublin/Belfast Road including, Donabate, Portrane, Blakes Cross, Lusk, Ballyboughal, Rush and many, many other small clusters of housing. Someone mentioned above, Ailis, that Portrane (mental hospital) is nearby. It is 2klm away on that exit. Weirdly enough, F Fail/bertie aherne was selling/sold/involved with the developer that was taking over Portrane to build yet more apartments/houses and dumping the patients who lived in and loved Portrane all their life to John Aherne’s nursing home “Leas Cross” at back of airport. I’m sure many of you remember that place! Remember, Aherne sold it to the HSE when it was closed down due to many, many deaths caused by neglect, (proven). John Aherne that is, not Bertie Aherne!

    Don’t get me wrong, I’m not being negative about this proposal. It would mean jobs for Fingal area which is needed, but, Minister Reilly would want to review the planning for at least another 2 exits along that stretch between Swords and Balbriggan. Planning for the new train line to Lissenhall was stopped. There is need for something similar if Minister Dr. Reilly expects to get planning. It is not fair for people who don’t have the luxury of a car or even money for taxi fares from Swords etc. The only bus that services that area at the moment is the provincial bus (Drogheda/Dundalk) that goes from Busaras and the Skerries bus no 33. The other option is a train from Connolly Station to Donabate. This site, is 3 Klm from the train station.

    Anyways …. it won’t work, unless, there is at least another exit opened up

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  • Well it would be crap for Galway, Limerick and Cork… But who gives a hoot….

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