Sinn Féin has welcomed the planning application for the National Children's Hospital on the St. James Hospital campus in Dublin.

Aengus Ó Snodaigh TD said it is a "landmark day for children's medical care and for the local communities backing onto this major construction and later major hospital site".

He added: "While I welcome the decision to locate the National Children's Hospital in the area, I will study today's planning application to see how the National Paediatric Development Board will deal with traffic management during and after construction in an area which is already struggling to cope with traffic jams and lack of parking.

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"I will make whatever constructive comments to An Bord Pleanála during this planning phase. I will also continue to highlight and work with the Board to ensure the delivery of their promised short and long term community gain as part of this large capital construction and medical project – the local jobs, training etc. during and after construction.

"This project is happening in one of the most disadvantaged communities in Ireland where unemployment, drugs, low education attainment is rife and where many of the large scale collapsed, stalled or delayed social housing regeneration programmes are located."

(CD/JP)