Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I will ask the Minister a question on an issue that is troubling all of us, namely, the overrun on the new national children's hospital. This has implications for the health budget, the whole capital programme, other budgets and the competence of the State to deliver large-scale capital projects. I was prompted to ask a question when the Minister outlined the three main reasons for the overrun, namely, general cost inflation in construction, a lack of understanding around the technology costs such as cabling and changing clinical standards. Those seem to be the three main reasons for the cost overrun. If one talks to people around town who are involved in large-scale capital construction projects, they say the main reason was that the State sought an initial cost estimate before the detailed design drawings had been done. They say it was a political imperative that pushed the process and it was to get political kudos by showing the Government was delivering and acting quickly. We did not get our ducks in a row. We got a costing based on planning drawings rather than detailed construction drawings. That is one of the reasons for the massive overrun. The eventual contract winner, BAM Ireland, had the State over a barrel because the deal was done before we knew what we were getting into. When I ask people around town with real expertise in capital construction, quantity surveying and other areas, that is what they tell me. They do not say anything about changing clinical standards. They say that for political reasons the State pushed the bidding process in the wrong way and that is why we are in trouble. Does the Minister wish to comment on that?