Minister for Health Simon Harris has awarded the contract for the first phase of the National Maternity Hospital to proceed.
The new hospital is to be build on the site of St Vincent's University Hospital at Elm Park in Dublin, replacing the facility on Holles Street in the city.
Minister Harris has approved the award of the contract for the development of the pharmacy and car park.
In a statement, he also said the St Vincent's Healthcare Group has confirmed the process by which the Religious Sisters of Charity will transfer their shareholding and withdraw from the group.
The minister said assurances have been given that the board of the new hospital will be competency based, and a review of current National Maternity Hospital governance will be undertaken to bring it in line with modern standards.
The board will include a public interest representative.
Mr Harris said the agreement in principle of the St Vincent's Healthcare Group to provide the State with a 99-year lease of the land on which the new hospital will be built will allow the State to retain ownership of the new facility.
He said that a significant milestone in the project has been reached "to achieve our ultimate goal of a landmark world class maternity facility for the benefit of the women and children of Ireland".
"The comprehensive legal framework prepared, and the commitments received from both hospitals, mean that I am fully confident that the new hospital will be owned by the State, that the NMH will be clinically and operationally independent and that no religious influence can, or will, be brought to bear on the new hospital."
The National Maternity Hospital has welcomed the progress on the first phase of the development.
In a statement, the hospital said it means that construction will begin in 2019.
"This state-of-the-art hospital will ensure that healthcare for future generations of Irish women and infants is of the highest international standard," the statement added.
