James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)

The Government has committed, under the programme for Government, to the construction of the new children's hospital. Since my appointment as Minister, I have been engaged in discussions with my officials and with the national paediatric hospital board in order to brief myself on the work done on this project to date. I want to be clear about how we can best provide the hospital in the most cost effective manner while ensuring a high quality service for our children and young people.

I intend to carry out a review of the National Children's Hospital project and will announce the details shortly. I am currently being briefed in some detail on all aspects of the project. Following consideration of the evidence presented to me, I will decide on the scope and terms of reference of the review and the appropriate person or persons to carry out the review. I anticipate that the review, once commenced, should take approximately four weeks to complete.

It is essential that all the facts are carefully considered before a final decision is taken on the best approach. In particular, I wish to be satisfied that the hospital will provide the best possible clinical outcomes for children and young people. The Deputy may rest assured that I wish to avoid any unnecessary delay to the development of this very important project.

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