Some 73% of people are in favour of the State purchasing the new National Maternity Hospital land, if the Sisters of Charity refuse to sell it.
An opinion poll of over 1,300 people by the Campaign group Uplift shows most people agree with it being purchased, including a narrow majority (52%) of churchgoers who attend mass weekly.
The Government is reported to be close to finalising a deal with the Sisters of Charity and St Vincent's Hospital Group to lease land on which the new National Maternity Hospital will be built for 299 years.
Dr Peter Boylan, former Master of the National Maternity Hospital has said that no possible license drawn up by the Government to seek assurances will allow for abortion care, sterilisation, and IVF - if they are not narrowly defined.
Legal research conducted on behalf of Uplift has found there’s "nothing standing in the way" of a publicly owned National Maternity Hospital according to the group.
It’s Director Siobhán O’Donoghue, has said the survey shows that people want "a future where, no matter who you are or where you come from, we have health care that is safe, trustworthy, accessible to everyone, publicly owned and free of religious ethos."
