The St Vincent's Healthcare Group (SVHG) has said the Sisters of Charity will have no role in the new National Maternity Hospital when it moves to south Dublin.

A spokeswoman for the healthcare group said: "The Religious Sisters of Charity announced in May 2017 that they were withdrawing from St Vincent's Healthcare Group.

"They resigned from the board at that date.

"We are now working towards giving effect to their decision.

"We expect the new constitution to be submitted to the Charities Regulator for approval in the coming weeks".

It came after outcry over ownership of the hospital, which is to be built on a Dublin site owned by the healthcare group.

The Religious Sisters of Charity had been majority stakeholders in that group.

SVHG announced in May last year that ownership of the group was to be transferred to a newly-formed company with charitable status, to be called simply 'St Vincent's'.

In a statement at the time, the Religious Sisters of Charity said: "The Religious Sisters of Charity will end our involvement in St Vincent's Healthcare Group and will not be involved in the ownership or management of the new National Maternity Hospital."

"Although the Sisters of Charity no longer have any direct involvement in the provision of healthcare services we remain dedicated to preserving the legacy of Mary Aikenhead, whose mission in life was to heal and care for the sick and poor.

"We believe that the future continued success of SVHG can best be ensured by our transferring ownership of the group to a newly formed company with charitable status to be called 'St Vincent's'.

"The Religious Sisters of Charity will have no involvement in this new company."