Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I do not think there is any doubt that one of the greatest scandals of this Administration's term is the overrun relating to the children's hospital. People are scandalised by it and how the figures have moved in this extraordinary way. Does the Taoiseach have an upper limit regarding what the hospital is going to cost? Hospitals are often broadly priced in the context of the cost per room. Some years ago, it may have been €1 million per room. Allowing for inflation, if we increased that by 100% to €2 million per room, we would have a cost of approximately €800 million, which is consistent with figures from around the world. Has the Taoiseach, as head of the Executive, instigated any inquiries? There is no doubt that this is a disaster for the country. We all want to see the hospital built.

As the Taoiseach, who is my constituency colleague, knows, I made it clear that I favoured a greenfield site for the hospital somewhere along the M50, with easy access that would not give rise to the costs associated with the site that was eventually chosen by the then Minister for Health. That is all in the past. We now have a project in respect of which the costs increase daily. Has the Taoiseach washed his hands of the matter? He was Minister for Health so he is intimately familiar with it. Has he placed an upper limit on what will be the cost? Has he compared it with the cost of other hospitals for children across the globe? Has he decided to conduct a proper investigation into what has happened to hardworking people's taxes and with the diversion of money from desperately-needed projects in order to meet these highly inflated costs?

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