Planning permission for a €100m new wing for critically ill women and infants at the Rotunda Hospital in Dublin has been refused following a successful objection by a conservation group. An Coimisiún Pleanála has overturned a decision of Dublin City Council to approve the proposed development of a new four-storey, critical care wing which would have provided 80 extra hospital bedrooms as well as a new theatre and connections to the existing entrance and main hospital buildings. The commission upheld two appeals against the council’s ruling by the Dublin Civic Trust and an individual, while rejecting the recommendation of its own planning inspector to grant planning permission. The commission said it was also satisfied that the proposed development would significantly impact the view across many protected structures within the Architectural Conservation Area. The critical care wing would have provided a 16-bed labour ward, a 20-bed neonatal intensive care unit, a 25-bed special care baby unit and a 19-bed post-natal unit together with a new operating theatre and recovery area.

Source: Irish Examiner February 13, 2026 14:18 UTC