Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 16 January 2019

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health

National Children’s Hospital: National Paediatric Hospital Development Board

Photo of Louise O'ReillyLouise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank all the witnesses for coming in this morning. While Deputy Donnelly was teasing out the figures, it struck me that, whereas we all know that cost overruns can happen, in this case, the overruns are on a monumental scale. If I was having work done on my house and the costs were escalating at this rate, I am not sure I would continue with the contractors. The board seems to have great faith in their ability to deliver, notwithstanding that the costs keep increasing.

This question was asked previously but I want to get to the bottom of this matter. In terms of the additional capacity for sick children, I fully appreciate and welcome that the hospital will have single occupancy rooms. The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation only started to count the number of children waiting on trolleys just over a year ago. Its figures would lead us to believe we have a capacity problem, which we clearly have. Is it the case that the sum total of additional beds being provided is four? Will there be only four additional beds?

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