Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy raised a few points. Let me be clear, in that I wanted the State to take ownership of the hospital around now. The contractor told us it would be in October or November, but it has missed its deadline. It has under-resourced the project repeatedly and failed to meet its deadline.

I agree with the Deputy about how the hospital development board, which is acting on our behalf, must use all of the levers available to it in the contract. Having met the board and been in regular communication with its chair, I am convinced, and the board is clear, that it is using all of the levers available to it under the contract. That is what makes this situation deeply frustrating.

I still expect the State to take ownership of the hospital next year. We should have accelerated commissioning and the hospital open next year. What is happening is deeply frustrating. As I wrote to the Taoiseach, and as the board told me when I met it, the board’s view is that the contractor is holding the Irish taxpayer and, arguably, the children of Ireland to ransom.

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