Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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I have seen local authority members deciding where it is spent. That has been my experience. We will seek clarification. Obviously, what happens varies from place to place.

No. 1772 B, from Mr. David Moloney, Secretary General of the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform, dated 3 March, provides the information we requested regarding the final cost of the national children's hospital. It is proposed to note and publish this correspondence. Is that agreed? Agreed. Deputy Munster and I flagged this matter for discussion. According to the letter, it remains the position that a definitive estimate of the final cost, including the extensive costs arising from construction inflation, will not be provided by the Department. Similarly, the timeline for claims management is a matter for the Department of Health. With the hospital being completed in the next 12 months, this will be the stock answer for now, but we should seek an update within the next few months. This reply is not satisfactory as it is unacceptable that we are not at least getting nearer to an estimate. I know the Department cannot tell us what the final cost will be - members will accept that - but what about a definitive estimate of the final cost? We should be moving into a phase now where the hospital is 85% constructed. I suggest that we re-examine the matter in the coming months.