A planning application for the new National Maternity Hospital (NMH) in Dublin has been submitted.

Speaking from a visit to the site at St Vincent's Minister for Health, Simon Harris, said it is a "milestone in the development of the future infrastructure".

He said: "The National Maternity Strategy is titled Creating a Better Future Together and that is exactly what we are doing through this project. We are going to provide women with an appropriate environment where they can deliver their babies in safety, in comfort, and with their privacy respected.

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"In welcoming the progression of the project to planning stage, I have to commend both the NMH and St Vincent's University Hospital for their commitment to the project and their tireless efforts to finalise the planning application following the successful conclusion of mediation talks late last year."

The project constitutes the largest single investment ever to be made in maternity services in Ireland. The new development will cater for up to 10,000 births per annum and will include state of the art obstetrics and gynaecology care facilities, including: 5 Operating Theatres; 50 Neonatal Intensive Care and Special Care single cot rooms; 24 Delivery rooms; Emergency and Out-patient Departments; Ultrasound facilities; and single in-patient rooms throughout.

(CD)