Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I will give the Deputy the short answer first. As of now, I am not aware of additional cost overruns, but that is not to say that there will not be any such overruns. With Covid, it is inevitable there will be some overruns but none have been agreed, arbitrated on and reported to the Department by the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board, NPHDB. In fairness to the NPHDB, Members will remember there were quite significant additional asks by the contractor of which all Members became very aware. Mr. Fred Barry was asked to go in as chairman of the board. I apologise for not having the figures to hand. The board seems to have been very successful in fighting the claims that have been put in. I am happy to furnish the Deputy with the relevant numbers. To date, the board has been very successful in those challenges.

Like many other sectors of society, the construction sector was impacted by Covid. This resulted in construction-related work on the site of the new children’s hospital stopping on 31 March. Following the easing of restrictions in May, the NPHDB engaged with the main contractor to ensure the earliest possible reopening of the sites. The main contractor of the project returned to the site in Tallaght on 29 June and to the main site at St. James's Hospital on 13 July.

There will be delays associated with Covid, but it is too early to assess fully the impact on the children’s hospital project and the paediatric outpatient and urgent care centre at Tallaght. The board continues to engage with the contractor and is monitoring progress on site in the interests of completing the project as quickly and economically as possible. On that note, I wish to state that I am acutely aware of how urgently the new children’s hospital is needed and I wish to see it delivered as quickly as possible on behalf of children, young people and their families. I have no doubt the Deputy shares that view.

Under the contract, the children’s hospital is due to be completed by the end of 2022 and handed over to Children’s Health Ireland to open in 2023 after commissioning. I am advised that the NPHDB was of the view in March 2020, when the site closed due to Covid-19, that the main contractor was behind schedule on the construction works.

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