One of the country’s biggest children’s charities has claimed that is being excluded from a Health Committee meeting to discuss the location of the new National Children’s Hospital.

Members of the Dáil’s Health Committee are meeting with the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board and the campaign group Connolly for Kids today.

The Jack & Jill Children’s Foundation – which has looked after over 2,000 families of sick children – has said that nobody involved in children’s health wants to see the new hospital located at St James’.

CEO Jonathan Irwin said that by not inviting the charity, the committee is missing the opportunity to hear how the location will affect people.

“If I was going to have a review about a children’s hospital, I think that I would be very quizzical as why I have left out the greatest source of information,” he said.

“Surely the object is to arrive at a situation where all our elected representatives have a very, very clear idea of how the parents feel, rather than how the politicians feel.”