Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for his views and obviously there are issues I am considering at present. There are a number of ways in which the Government might do this although it has not got any money yet. However, assuming the Government will receive a substantial sum of money next year, I am exploring whether it should be put into an escrow account, particularly for the national children's hospital or whether it would be more prudent, as the Deputy rightly stated, to substitute money I know I am getting. However, it is important to have a robust funding mechanism for the national children's hospital. I consider it to be important that people may be assured of that. Consequently, I am minded to ring-fence the money, as Deputy Fleming indicated I might be doing. I am minded to do that and have asked the Secretary General of my Department to explore options in that regard. I will be obliged to bring back the legislation to the House, when Members can go through it in some detail.

The only reason I have not given the Deputy the figures regarding the competitive tendering is that there are conditionalities associated with it. I will only pay on completion of these conditionalities, step-by-step, and I will keep the Deputy abreast in that regard.

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