PAC wants to recall board members of children’s hospital over new estimate

The development board overseeing the national children’s hospital (NCH) project could face further questioning from the Dáil Public Accounts Committee (PAC) after it emerged the project will cost more than €2.2 billion.

In revealing the cost of the hospital has increased by more than €500 million, Ministers insisted no more money would be spent on the controversial project.

However, sceptical members of the PAC say they want to recall members of the hospital’s development board about the new estimate.

Social Democrats TD Catherine Murphy said it was “essential” that the committee recall members of the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board, which is responsible for construction of the building at St James’s Hospital in Dublin.

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Alan Kelly of Labour, another member of the committee, said he hoped the board would be asked back before the committee, but this would first have to be discussed by members.

The cost of building the hospital has increased by €512 million, to €2.24 billion, Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly revealed to Cabinet colleagues on Tuesday.

Included in this are the design build and equipping costs, including satellite centres at Tallaght and Connolly hospitals, and a separate €360 million for the integration and transition of services to the NCH. The last publicly available estimate for the total cost was €1.7 billion.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar told the Dáil the Government would not be allocating any more funding towards the NCH, with €2.2 billion the “maximum allocation” for the project.

He said the “target” was for the hospital to be completed by October 2024, and it would be open to patients next year. Mr Varadkar also warned there would be “years of disputes” with the contractor but this would not impact on other projects.

Mr Donnelly told RTÉ News at One it would be April or May of 2025 before the first patients could be admitted to the new hospital, but only if the contractor BAM “meets its own deadline” of completion by next October. He appealed to the contractor to stick to this deadline.

Mr Donnelly was adamant that none of the funds would go towards claims made by BAM. Of the €770 million claim from BAM, €645 million had been adjudicated and less than 3 per cent awarded, he said, with the remaining €123 million yet to be adjudicated on.

Meanwhile, Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Paschal Donohoe said he expected the latest tranche of the funding for the hospital to be the “last significant settlement in relation to the overall cost” of the project.

In a statement, a spokesperson for BAM said the company’s primary focus was on the “timely delivery of the new children’s hospital”.

The spokesperson said BAM was also “fully resourced within the scope agreed” to complete the hospital.

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