Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 29 January 2019

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health

National Children's Hospital: Discussion (Resumed)

Photo of Simon HarrisSimon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Brassil. here are a couple of questions there. In respect of the GMP, it is important to note this was a strategy going back as far as 2014. The Government contracts committee for construction also considered it. While there is no doubt that the Mazars report found considerable shortcomings in terms of the lack of early warning and so on, the report still arrived at the conclusion that it was the right procurement model to use for a project of such complexity. I do not have the expertise of Mazars in terms of arriving at that conclusion. The Deputy asked whether I was aware that the main contractor had come in significantly below the previous bid. From recollection, I do not believe so. Once the Government makes the decision to award, I do not interfere in the procurement process or I would be answering much more difficult questions here in that regard.

The question of why PwC was commissioned after the awarding of phase B is a valid one. When we look at the timeline, it is important to note that on 5 September, when the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board was briefed by the design team on overall capital costs, the board then sought and subsequently obtained a three-month window to conclude the GMP negotiations without incurring additional cost. Consequently, it was up against a clock in terms of not incurring additional costs above and beyond the already agreed pricing. In fairness, reviews were carried out. They included the Mazars report and the DSSR report, which was produced by an international consultancy firm that looked at whether there were opportunities to de-scope or de-scale some of the issues.

The Deputy also asked whether I was consulted about the decision to award the contract to BAM. Absolutely - it was a Government decision so I brought that proposal to the Government on 18 December. The instruction regarding the decision to award the contract was only relayed by the appropriate authorities in January after the Government decision was made so, ultimately, it was a Government decision on 18 December to proceed with the awarding of the phase B contract.

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