Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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77. To ask the Minister for Health if there is a revised timetable for delivery of the National Children's Hospital; the reason it has taken more than six months since the decision to locate at the St. James' Hospital site, Dublin, for the Interim Board to begin tendering for a design team; if he will intervene to expedite the process; if enhanced resources will be made available to the existing children's hospitals; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22733/13]

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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The decision to locate the new children's hospital on the St. James's campus was announced on 6 November 2012. Co-location, and ultimately tri-location with a maternity hospital, on the St. James's campus will support the provision of excellence in clinical care that our children deserve. The new children’s hospital is a key commitment in the programme for Government and the largest project in the current capital plan.

The national paediatric hospital development board is the body charged with building the hospital. I intend to restructure the board so its sole focus is on the core function of planning, designing, building and equipping the new hospital, and that its membership includes the expertise needed to deal with a very large and complex capital project. Pending the necessary appointments to the board, senior officials from my Department and the HSE, appointed to the board in January 2013, have been working to progress the project at its new location. In this first phase of the project, the transitional board's focus is on reconciling the brief with the new site, site preparation, close-out of existing contracts and new procurement processes. A joint group involving the HSE and St. James's Hospital meet regularly to progress the enabling and decant work required. A shared services group is in place focusing on identifying the facilities which can be shared so as to optimise the build, and a review of urgent care centres configuration is under way and expected to be completed in the coming weeks. The contract notice for the procurement of a new design team is expected to be published in the coming weeks. The aim is to have the new design team in place within six months and to secure planning permission by December 2014.

Work on developing a detailed project timeline is continuing under the transitional board, recognising the urgency and priority attached to the project as well as its scale and complexity.

I am also establishing a children's hospital group, comprising the three existing children's hospitals. This is an important step in moving towards the transition of the three hospitals to a single entity. With regard to resources for the existing children's hospitals, the HSE National Service Plan 2013 sets out the quantum and type of health services to be provided in 2013 within the overall level of funding provided.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House

The three children's hospitals have stated their commitment to becoming a single service across three sites and are working closely together, with a single clinical director across the three sites, to ensure optimisation of resources and facilities.

This project is of huge importance for the provision of acute paediatric services for all children in Ireland and is a priority for me and for this Government. I am confident that the project governance and management arrangements which I have outlined will ensure the swiftest possible completion, with optimal design and value for money.

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Can the Minister confirm, as reported last week, that the interim or transitional board, as the Minister refers to it, of the new national children's hospital will only begin tendering for a design team next month and that it will be summer 2014 before a planning application is submitted? As the Minister has indicated in his reply, the decision to locate the hospital at St. James's was made way back in early November, so this is a full six months later. Why has the tendering for a design team not begun before now, given the urgency of this major health infrastructure project? How does the Minister account for the delay? Given the disappointment that has been created by the decisions relevant to the initial Mater site identification, what will happen now concerning the project's ultimate delivery and completion? Are we really talking about 2018? Will the Minister intervene to help expedite this badly needed hospital facility?

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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As I have stated, there is a huge amount of work under way. A decanting process is to take place at St. James's Hospital and several buildings have to be depopulated. The services there have to be moved and those buildings have to be taken down. An extensive project is going on at St. James's under the control of the board which has appointed a project manager with a view to providing us with a brown site - a clear site - by 1 January 2015. There are timelines on which I will have further information in the next couple of weeks concerning each building and area that needs to be cleared, and what else has to be done. Furthermore, Dr. Jim Brown has been appointed chair and now has an office on the grounds of St. James's. A strategic advisory group has been established whose chair is Dr. Frank Dolphin. In addition, the NPHD or - for want of a better word and to save confusion - the building board will also have a new chair. Somebody has been contacted and has accepted the position. We look forward to him taking up his position and continuing to expedite this important project.

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Given the importance of this project and the Minister's disappointment at the further delay indicated last week, can he take any steps to help expedite this important development? The Minister knows that the existing children's hospitals are suffering. We also know that budgets for two of them - Crumlin and Temple Street - were cut this year.

Briefly, before concluding, I would like to reflect on the comments of the late teenager, Donal Walsh. Among many of the issues he addressed was his experience at Our Lady's Children's Hospital in Crumlin. He indicated that the ratio of toilet facilities to beds there was one to 18. He raised thousands of euro for Crumlin hospital and identified the requirements of young children there.

Peter Mathews (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Thank you, Deputy.

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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I will conclude with this, a Chathaoirligh. What will happen concerning Crumlin, Tallaght and Temple Street hospitals in the intervening period? Will we find that inappropriate and inadequate resourcing will continue beyond 2018? If so, what will the Minister do about that in the meantime?

Peter Mathews (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Deputy Ó Caoláin has left that question hanging in suspense because there is no time for the Minister to reply, unfortunately. Let us be careful about the time.

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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I object. This is not about the Chairman's clock or mine. This is about trying to elicit information about a serious infrastructure matter which I have raised here with the Minister. Once a month we get this chance-----

Peter Mathews (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Deputy Ó Caoláin.

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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-----and I do not appreciate the Chairman's intervention and his closing off the response.

Peter Mathews (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Deputy Ó Caoláin, please resume your seat.

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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I put it you the Chairman, in his position, that it is inappropriate given the seriousness of the matter. I would hope the Minister would respect the House.

Alex White (Dublin South, Labour)
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The Deputy should respect the Chair.

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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It is a disgrace.

Peter Mathews (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Deputy Ó Caoláin, please desist.