A NEW €160m maternity and children's hospital in Sandyford has been given the green light by Dun Laoghaire/Rathdown County Council.

The plan from Landmark Developments will see the extensive facility sited on the Beacon Medical Campus on Blackthorn Road in Dublin 18.

The original plan for the hospital was refused by An Bord Pleanala in November last year because of insufficient drainage and water facilities in the area.

However, a fresh planning application was lodged earlier this year. Among the supporters of the scheme was the Sandyford Business Estate Association (SBEA) which wrote to the council expressing its backing.

"We consider that the proposed development is an important additional and complimentary infrastructural facility to the existing Beacon Hospital and Consultants Clinic," the SBEA said.

"When complete, the project will bring much needed long-term sustainable investment to the local economy, leading to social and community benefits as well as creating short-term jobs during the construction phase," it added.

Reasons

Councillors Louise Cosgrave and Gearoid O'Keeffe defended the proposal.

In a letter, they stated: "There are a number of reasons why this application should be approved, not least because, we understand, it will give employment to 450 staff when completed and that an additional 650 people will be employed in supporting the venture."

Pauline Cullen from the Beacon Medical Group (BMG) said the hospital facility would cater to 3,000 deliveries a year, with routine and high-risk services, including paediatric accident and emergency, also on site.

"The population of the Greater Dublin Area (GDA) is projected to increase by over half a million persons in the period up to 2021," Ms Cullen said. She said that the hospital would take just over two years to build. But she said the plans are not in competition to the new national children's hospital.

"It is not the intention to compete with, or replace the NCH. We are simply hoping to improve accessibility to excellent healthcare for everyone," she said. "There is no other independent paediatric hospital in the country."

However, final planning permission could take some time as an appeal to An Bord Pleanala is possible.

comurphy@herald.ie

- Cormac Murphy