Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for the opportunity to make this statement. My purpose in doing so is to place on the record of this House an apology regarding an answer I provided to a parliamentary question on the national children's hospital.

The past number of weeks in this Oireachtas, as we have seen again today, have been dominated by debate and discussion regarding the development of this major paediatric hospital. This hospital, as we all accept, is badly needed and will transform the delivery of children's healthcare in Ireland. It has been promised for decades. We will move from antiquated facilities to fit-for-purpose, single en suite rooms for every child. We will go from living in a country which has 14 theatres for our children to one which has 22.

The equipment at the new children's hospital is about so much more than beds. It will include five MRIs with space for two more; three CT scans; 30 ultrasounds; and seven X-ray rooms, all of which will be state-of-the-art.

We will provide outdoor recreational space and school facilities for some of Ireland’s sickest children, for many of whom this facility will not just be a hospital but will be a home for many weeks and for some, many months. New outpatient centres will be provided at Connolly Hospital Blanchardstown and Tallaght University Hospital, with the former opening later this year. All this major investment will transform our children’s health service and will be underpinned by a new model of care. It is true that the costs of this project have increased significantly and taxpayers want to be assured that their investment is being managed correctly. An inquiry has begun and will report back by the end of next month and the Government will act swiftly on all of its recommendations. We will not be found wanting when it comes to acting against any entity or any company if errors were made. Lessons must and will be learnt and the Cabinet took a number of decisions in that regard today.

I now want to specifically refer to a parliamentary question I answered on the record of this House on 18 September 2018 about the national children’s hospital project. The timeline of information available to me is well established because I have published relevant documents in order to be fully transparent. At the time of answering, I was not in a position to give commercially sensitive figures but, as I said at the Committee on Health-----

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