The HSE has purchased the former private maternity hospital, Mount Carmel, it has confirmed.

Around 300 staff lost jobs when the Dublin hospital, which also provided general surgery services, went into liquidation and closed in January of this year.

At the time, the Department of Health and the HSE had decided against taking over the hospital, which had debts of over €35 million.

Around 1,300 births took place there annually.

However, the HSE has now confirmed that it has purchased the hospital and hopes to reopen it next year as a step-down facility for patients who have been in hospital for a long time and no longer need acute care, but have nowhere to go.

Meanwhile, the HSE said it could not confirm newspaper reports that it had paid €11 million to purchase the site from NAMA.