Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Nobody disputes the need for a national children's hospital. What people question is why we are providing private units within that public hospital, and why mistakes continue to be made. Why were we told that there was a guaranteed maximum price of €1.433 billion and are now hearing that the contractor is making additional claims? It will cost €10 million extra per month for every month that the project is delayed, and we are told there are risks of delay. Why did the Government sign off on a contract in December which stated that the contractor could apply for additional claims if inflation ran over 4%, when we know that construction inflation is 7.5%?

It is not just that mistakes were made in the past. We know about them and they have been well ventilated. The Government is still making mistakes with this project.

The Minister did not answer the question on what projects will be cancelled or delayed as a result. It is madness that we are six months into the year and still do not have the HSE's capital plan for 2019. This goes to the heart of the Government's mismanagement of the health service's funding. For the past two days, we have raised the issue of home help hours. It costs €6,000 per week to keep someone in an acute hospital bed, but home care packages cost €160 per week. The Government and the HSE have decided to suspend all home help hours for new applicants up until November. It makes no sense whatsoever.

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