The holding company being established to run St Vincent’s University Hospital and co-run the new National Maternity Hospital will be bound by Irish law and not canon law, lawyers for St Vincent’s have told the Department of Health. In practice, this means it will not have a pro-life ethos.

The company, St Vincent’s Holdings CLG, is being set up as the owners of St Vincent’s, the Sisters of Charity, cease involvement with the hospital.

The constitution and articles of the new company have been approved by the Charities Regulator and the Revenue Commissioners, according to St Vincent’s, which published the documents on its website on Friday.

McCann Fitzgerald, lawyers for St Vincent’s Healthcare Group, wrote to the department late last month in response to a request for confirmation that canon law would have no impact on the holding company once incorporated.

Donal O Raghallaigh, for McCann Fitzgerald, wrote that he had reviewed the constitution of the company, which will be incorporated pursuant to the Companies Act 2014 “shortly”.

“The company and its directors will be bound by Irish law and by the provisions of the Constitution. The Constitution makes no reference to Canon Law and Canon Law shall have no impact on the company,” Mr O Raghallaigh says in the letter.