Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As I said to Senator Mullen, the primary reasoning behind the location of the site must be the clinical outcomes for our children. The idea of co-locating a hospital with an acute adult teaching hospital like St. James's Hospital, as well as with a tri-located maternity hospital in due course, was a primary objective.

I also do not believe, for the purposes of these conversations about overruns, that it is a relevant point. The cost of the St. James's site was €983 million, and we are still comparing it with the current costs. That is a slightly longwinded way of saying "no, I do not believe that is the case".