Noel Grealish (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am delighted to speak on this motion. Two years ago, I spoke on another motion calling on the Government to change its mind on the decision to locate the national children’s hospital on the St. James’s Hospital site. At that time, there were dark mutterings about the soaring costs, which at that stage were predicted to pass the €1 billion mark in total. Today, that seems like a bargain price.

I wish to lend my full support to this motion calling for the halting of construction pending an investigation into the possibility of retendering the project and moving it to a more suitable greenfield site. The main reason is that I am firmly of the belief that the Connolly Hospital site in Blanchardstown is the best place for a national children’s hospital, but it could also make financial sense. It has been suggested by people who are experts in the building and running of healthcare facilities, including the likes of Dr. Jimmy Sheehan, that switching to a greenfield site such as that at Connolly Hospital would be hundreds of millions of euro cheaper than sticking with the St. James’s Hospital site.

We have available two major reports, going back years, which stated that building this much-needed facility on a greenfield site would be 25% less expensive than building it on a brownfield site in a built-up urban area. The costs of the current project seem to be rising every day and I note, too, that the final bill for the external review of the cost overruns on the national children’s hospital looks likely to exceed more than €500,000.

I am deeply concerned about how the cost overruns will not only cost the taxpayer more but also threaten to have a serious impact on other developments within our health system and elsewhere in State spending. They have cast a long shadow of uncertainty over the timely development of other services and capital projects such as the building of a new emergency department at University Hospital Galway, a facility that is badly needed and already long overdue. Any delay would be a shocking disappointment to the more than 60,000 people who come to the existing unit every week seeking treatment in a cramped and outdated emergency department that is universally accepted as being not fit for purpose. It would be a kick in the teeth for the doctors, nurses and all the other staff who have put up with working in those unacceptable conditions for far too long. Those are the kind of conditions that are leading to nursing staff shortages because they are leaving in their droves to work in far superior conditions abroad.

Apart from the potential cost savings, which are considerable, I have long been of the view that the St. James’s site is the wrong location for a new national children’s hospital. It is important to remember that it is a national children’s hospital and not just for Dublin. Some of the sickest children in the country will be treated in the hospital and we have to think of the accessibility for them and their families. The Connolly Hospital site is located just off the M50, which makes it much more accessible for everyone coming from outside Dublin, allowing for faster access without running the risk of getting stuck in city centre traffic. In an emergency situation, the difference could be crucial for a seriously ill child being brought by ambulance or by car. Families under enormous stress could do without the hassle of extra traffic when they are coming to and from visiting their sick child.

Another drawback of the current development is the fact that the larger Coast Guard helicopters cannot land there. The Sikorsky S-92 search and rescue fleet is not licensed to land on rooftop helipads, which is what is proposed now. They would have to land in the Royal Hospital Kilmainham and transfer by ambulance from there, which is hardly an ideal situation with a very sick child and potentially heavy traffic on the roads.

The work already done on the current development will not have gone to waste. St. James's Hospital will make good use of the underground car parking, which will prove inadequate to meet demand. The site should become the location for a satellite children’s urgent care centre, switching the current idea of the main hospital being at St. James’s with a satellite at Connolly Hospital. The extra space would also allow for the expansion of adult facilities at St. James's Hospital.

Once this project is built, there will be little room for further outward expansion at the St. James's location, which is a much more cramped site than the 145 acres available at Connolly Hospital, and the potential that offers for more pleasing surroundings for the young patients to look out on.

I urge the Government to see the sense in this argument and call a halt to building work while a speedy and time-limited independent investigation is carried out into the viability of moving the project to a more suitable location.

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