Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy. I am happy to provide clarification. The Department has stated that the new national children's hospital has been designed and constructed in consultation with CHI and, most important, in accordance with disabled access certification.

There are 5,000 rooms in the new hospital and the development board is advised that all rooms and areas are fully compliant and, as such, are accessible. I again reiterate that if someone has evidence to the contrary, I ask them to please engage with the hospital development board, CHI or the Minister so that we can address the issue. The design process was informed by extensive workshops and consultation across all clinical disciplines. It is inevitable that there will be differences of opinion in a project such as this. The paediatric hospital development board is clear that the hospital is designed in line with international best practice to contemporary standards, to be as future proof as possible and to be accessible for staff and, most importantly, patients and their families.

See this speech in context