Madam, - Dr Fergus O'Ferrall (July 17th) writes that "any new children's hospital will involve the existing two voluntary Roman Catholic paediatric hospitals and one multidenominational and pluralist paediatric hospital".
One takes it that he indicates, by the former two, Temple Street and Crumlin Hospitals, and by the third the National Children's Hospital at Tallaght. Your readers should be aware that he is modest about the statutory religious position of Tallaght Hospital.
I quote from the "Charter of the Adelaide and Meath Hospital, incorporating the National Children's Hospital (August 1st, 1996).
"(5) That the objects for which the Hospital is established and incorporated are: (j) To maintain the Fundamental Principle upon which the Adelaide Hospital, Dublin, was established, namely that it should be an essentially Religious and Protestant Institution, by maintaining the Hospital as a focus for Protestant participation in the health services and therefore preserving its particular denominational ethos".
Further:
"(13)(1) (a) There shall be a President of the Hospital.
"(b) The President shall be the person who is for the time being the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Dublin
"(c) It shall be the duty of the President to protect the ethos of the Hospital as set out in the Charter". - Yours, etc,
HUGH STAUNTON, Beaumont Hospital, Beaumont Road, Dublin 9.