Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 11 April 2019

Public Accounts Committee

Matters Relating to the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board Financial Statements 2017: Professor Chris Fitzpatrick

9:00 am

Professor Chris Fitzpatrick:

Yes. It is in private ownership. I believe it is earmarked for housing development. It was a wonderful site that was available at the time. However, because it was a distance from St. James's Hospital, we said it was not ideal, but in terms of Blanchardstown and St. James's hospitals, there was a choice and there were options. The issue is that if it had been built there, the hospital would be built now because there was a very low planning risk with it and ease of access onto it. At that time, the purchase of the land would have been very reasonable. We could have had the paediatric hospital there and it would only have occupied 60% of the footprint, so there was a lot of room for other development on the site. Our understanding was that the decision was changed at the last minute, and that is what was reported. That was certainly the feedback we got through the grapevine on it, but that is history. I am not coming here-----

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