The move to hand over ownership of the National Maternity Hospital to the Sisters of Charity has proved highly controversial, with many people questioning the logic of there being any over-arching religious influence on such a key medical institution.

Despite attempts by Rhona Mahony, the Master of the National Maternity Hospital, to downplay the influence of the Religious Sisters of Charity, saying that it is a mere "technical detail", there is a growing consensus that the issue of ownership is far more than a this, with the former Master of the Coombe Hospital, Chris Fitzpatrick, also coming out strongly against any involvement for the Sisters of Charity in the National Maternity Hospital project.

"This is a defining moment in terms of Irish maternity services," he said in a letter to the HSE, "the first of four co-located maternity hospitals to be built arising out of the new Government strategy – so it's essential to get it right."

Read Hot Press Editor Niall Stokes' Message about ownership of the National Maternity Hospital here and in the latest issue.

Join us for the protest at the Dail at 1pm this afternoon.