Staff at Holles Street hold the historic building in high affection but don't deny it doesn't meet all their needs.
"Those of us who have worked most of our lives here would have some regrets about moving. It's such a lovely building and it's very central," said assistant matron Mary Purcell who has worked there for almost 30 years.
"But we're very cramped and we haven't really the level of bathrooms to beds that you would have in a modern hospital. "The building has been continually adjusted to different uses and it can't really be adjusted any more. We can't go up a floor because of the planning laws and we can't go outwards because we're hemmed in," Ms Purcell said.
"We have a small yard to the back but if we build in that, there would be no car-parking space at all. As it is, patients don't have parking."
The Eastern Regional Health Authority acknowledged the shortage of space at Holles Street but said the problem was one affecting a lot of hospitals in the region.
The restrictive nature of the building may also prove a hindrance if it goes on the property market and some experts believe the £37 million valuation, obtained four months ago, would be greatly reduced in the current depressed market. The building occupies a prime location on the corner of Merrion Square but would need substantial redevelopment for commercial use and the front section of the building is listed which means only limited alterations are permitted.
The Adelaide Hospital, bought in 1998 by a private developer who converted it mainly to apartments, was sold for just over £6 million and the former National Children's Hospital in Harcourt Street, fetched a similar price.