Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

Over the weekend, we learned that PwC had been appointed to carry out an independent review of the colossal scale of spiralling costs of the national children's hospital.

The current estimate of the cost - it appears to increase day by day - stands at more than €1.73 billion, which is almost three times more than the initial estimate of €650 million. The timescale for the project is also going to be longer than that originally envisaged. While this crisis is unfolding on the watch of the Minister, Deputy Harris, the Taoiseach was Minister for Health when the relevant decisions were taken and when the initial information was placed in the public domain. It appears that said information had little grounding in reality. The origins of this spending extravaganza, which has not appeared suddenly in recent months, can be found in the establishment of this process, including that part relating to site selection. The Taoiseach was a key player in the process during his time as Minister for Health. There was a considerable delay prior to the awarding of the contracts. At the time, there was a great deal of speculation that the delay was caused by difficulties getting funding in place.

Did the figures ever really stack up? Did officials ever raise this issue with the Taoiseach at that time? Will he outline the extent to which he, as the then Minister for Health, scrutinised the tendering process? What set of circumstances led him to sign off on contracts that now seem to have been a work of fiction? Was the veracity of the cost projections and the timescales rigorously tested by the then Minister and his officials? If it was, how have we ended up in this predicament? We all know that the health budget is finite. The cost overrun has already had an impact on health services and will continue to have such an impact. What assurances do we have now that there will be no further increase in the estimated cost of building this hospital?

We accept that the new children's hospital is desperately needed. Fine Gael likes to laud itself as a party of prudent fiscal management - the Taoiseach did so earlier - but in the case of this project, it appears that a blank cheque has been written for those who have been awarded the contract to develop the site. There is absolutely nothing prudent about that. Did the Taoiseach, as the Minister for Health of the day, and his officials engage in due diligence to rigorously test the veracity of the contract proposals, specifically in relation to cost? What immediate steps are being taken, or have been taken, to stop the overruns I have mentioned? What is the updated figure, as of today, in relation to the cost? What health projects are now in doubt because of the overruns?

See this speech in context