Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 12 July 2023

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health

Update on New National Children’s Hospital: National Paediatric Hospital Development Board

Mr. David Gunning:

That is correct and we have been very closely engaged with BAM. I gave an answer to a question earlier about where we tried the very contractual route, with the writing of letters and all of that. I joined this project in late 2019 and I believe we spent a year going down all that very heavy contractual legal route and we did not feel that we are making much progress.

We then tried - as I made the comment earlier and if I do not get shot for saying it - a collaborative approach and we have been engaged for 20 months or so in trying to find a way through the differences. BAM has a different view of the world to the one we have. There is no doubt about that. Having engaged in that process, we have now exited it and have for the past few months been back to the contractual hardening of lines. This is only delivering what we see in front of us and what we are reporting to the committee. It would be timely and reasonable for us to engage again and for BAM to engage with us around this programme, assuming we get it next week, as the basis for a meaningful discussion on how we might resolve the differences between us and get certainty on the delivery of the project.

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