Those involved in the Northern Ireland peace process would be watching developments at the Tallaght hospital to see if it would include the ethical traditions of the Adelaide hospital, which is to become part of the new hospital, it was said yesterday.
At the Adelaide Hospital Society's annual meeting yesterday, the chairman, Prof Ian Graham, spoke of the Adelaide's inclusive philosophy and ethos. The new Tallaght hospital would have to recognise the needs of a public, voluntary, university teaching hospital and school of nursing.
It would also have a "charter obligation to provide such medical and surgical procedures as may lawfully be provided in the State".
Referring to the recent controversy over the society's submission to the Interdepartmental Working Group on Abortion, he said the society did not favour abortion but acknowledged that it existed and that those who sought it should be medically supported before, during and after the procedure.
Less than 10 years ago, the Adelaide Hospital, starved of resources, faced closure. Then, due to the Adelaide Hospital Society and others, the quiet majority of Irish people indicated clearly that it was unacceptable "to destroy the last participation in health care by a minority group and in particular one which was both inclusive and protected the privacy of the doctor/patient relationship.
"Instead of being inevitable, closure became a political impossibility," he said.
The board and society of the Adelaide had espoused the cause of the new Tallaght hospital, in which it would be joined by the Meath and the National Children's Hospital, Harcourt Street.
Prof Graham said the charter for the new hospital not only protected the denominational ethos of the hospital but also the pluralist character of the Adelaide.