Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Value for money is important and many people have concerns when there are large capital overruns. When the Secretary General of the Department of Health appeared before the Committee of Public Accounts recently, he would not be drawn on the final cost of the children's hospital. One member of the committee suggested that it could be close to €2.2 billion. The Minister will be aware that this is an issue of major concern to people. Is that suggested figure much closer to the final one than the official figure of €1.7 billion that we have been hearing about for some time? Last month, the Irish Examiner revealed that almost 1,000 legal claims with a value of €542 million had been taken by the main contractor. It is time that the public were aware of the revised estimate of the final cost for the children's hospital. Will the Minister update the House with a more accurate figure?

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