THE Archbishop of Dublin, Dr Connell, is to be invited to tell an Oireachtas Committee of his concerns about the Constitutional Review Group's recommendations on the public funding of Catholic hospitals.
The invitation to the arch bishop was announced yesterday by the chairman of the All Party Oireachtas Committee on the Constitution after Dr Connell warned that the group's proposals on hospital funding would lead to the imposition of "penal conditions".
Mr Jim O'Keeffe, the Oireachtas Committee chairman, said he wished Dr Connell to give the committee "a detailed statement" of his concerns on this or any other constitutional issue.
No comment on the invitation was available last night from Dr Connell's residence.
The committee has already begun reviewing the Constitution and issued an invitation to any member of the public to let it have observations in writing before the end of September.
Other sources in Government and Opposition reacted coolly to the archbishop's claims. Government sources said Dr Connell was entitled to his point of view but, ultimately, it was the people who would decide on constitutional change.
"The Constitutional Review Group was given the task of examining the Constitution in accordance with a commitment in the Programme for Renewal. That has been completed and widely welcomed as a fine work,"one source said.
The Progressive Democrats spokeswoman on health, Ms Cathy Honan, said that publicly funded hospitals were entitled to perform any procedure necessary for their patients, provided the practice was legal.