Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Deputy Hourigan raised a matter in respect of the Estimate. Clearly, the Estimate is massive and perhaps we need to examine how it is done. Maybe we should provide supports for committee members. We do it for overseas aid and it is done in other parliaments. It is something that we should consider. I did not got a sense that we have dug into the Estimates and where the money will be spent.

I have a question about the national children's hospital because I am unsure about the funding, particularly the €107 million underspend. A couple of weeks ago, the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board was before the joint committee. Its representatives talked about the difficulties they face with hundreds of claims being before the High Court and the project being behind schedule. We also heard that the Tallaght urgent care centre is seven months behind and how they were worried about a big claim. On the one hand, we are saying that there has been an underspend but, on the other, we clearly know that there will be a demand.

It is clear there will be an overspend, not necessarily this year but certainly next year. Is that budgeted for? We are also told that 15% per month to the contractor, BAM, was being withheld. Does that come under the Minister's Department? How is that held? We do not have the time to go into them today but those are some of my concerns about it.

To get back to the Tallaght Hospital issue, a 72-bed unit project is with HBS Estates. We are told it is needed because of the number of elderly people presenting at the accident and emergency department but also because of the young population in the area. Is there any way of fast-tracking that because it is in an area of high unemployment and also because we need more beds within the system?