Fianna Fáil senator slates Health Minister over Children's Hospital name
A Fianna Fáil senator has accused Fine Gael Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill of 'wasting public funds' and 'ignoring political consensus' over the naming of the new National Children's Hospital.
Mary Fitzpatrick also accused Minister Carroll MacNeill of a 'failure of judgment'.
It is one of the first times in this new Government that a politician has publicly condemned one of their coalition colleagues.
As reported by the Irish Mirror earlier this week, €4,500 was spent on the decision to name the new National Children's Hospital the 'National Children's Hospital Ireland.'
This was one of 17 names suggested for the hospital with 'the support of a specialist branding agency'.
Minister Carroll MacNeill stated that the name was chosen because it would be "the simplest thing for a stressed-out parent in difficult circumstances'.
She also acknowledged that many had called for the hospital to be called after Dr Kathleen Lynn.
However, she said she will engage with the Youth Advisory Committee in the National Children's Hospital Ireland to see if a wing or an auditorium could be named in her honour.
Fianna Fáil Senator Mary Fitzpatrick has now slated Minister Carroll MacNeill over the fact that the hospital was not named after Dr Lynn, a medic and 1916 Rising participant.
She said: '€4,500 was spent on consultants just to ignore a name the Oireachtas had already backed. That's not just wasteful, it's dismissive.
'Let's be honest, the name we've been given could belong to any hospital in any country. We had a chance to give it real meaning and the Minister passed.
'This wasn't a fringe idea. It had political support from Government and opposition. The Minister didn't just sidestep it, she overruled it.
'We didn't need branding consultants to tell us what the country had already decided. We needed leadership, and we didn't get it.
'This was a real chance to connect a state-of-the-art hospital with a name rooted in public service, care, and courage.
'Instead, the Minister chose something forgettable and spent public money to do it. That's not just a lost opportunity. It's a failure of judgment.'
The Government did not oppose a Seanad Motion in May 2023 to name the hospital after Dr Lynn, who co-founded a children's hospital in Dublin in 1919.
Saint Ultan's Children's Hospital closed in the 1980s when it merged with the National Children's Hospital on Harcourt Street. This was later relocated to Tallaght.
The motion was brought forward by Senator Fitzpatrick and Catherine Ardagh, who is now a TD.
Sinn Féin TD Aengus Ó Snodaigh then submitted a Bill to the Dáil in April 2025 to name the hospital after Dr Lynn.
The Bill was not opposed by the Government but has not progressed through the legislative process.
The Irish Mirror contacted a spokesperson for Minister Carroll MacNeill for comment.
We have also repeatedly asked the Department of Health for confirmation of all names considered for the National Children's Hospital but have yet to receive a response.
The Irish Mirror's Crime Writers Michael O'Toole and Paul Healy are writing a new weekly newsletter called Crime Ireland. Click here to sign up and get it delivered to your inbox every week
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