Results 5,941-5,960 of 6,020 for speaker:Martin Conway
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Children’s Hospital: Discussion (9 Oct 2024)
Martin Conway: Picking up on that point and reflecting on this whole issue, clearly the commissioning is a major project. We need to be realistic and honest with people that, yes, we might be able to shed some time off the delivery date and get some back office work done, but clearly a hospital can only be commissioned effectively when you have the keys and take it over. My first question for the...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Children’s Hospital: Discussion (9 Oct 2024)
Martin Conway: The detail that I want is at high level, to be honest.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Children’s Hospital: Discussion (9 Oct 2024)
Martin Conway: That is fine. I might bring Mr. Lynch in in round two but I want to stick with the Minister for the moment. Following on from Deputy Kenny's question regarding the timeline, and I appreciate the Minister does not want to get into picking a date, he might tell us when he is expecting this intensive round of engagement with BAM to conclude? Bear in mind, we have had four extensions of...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Children’s Hospital: Discussion (9 Oct 2024)
Martin Conway: The Minister must have an indicative date.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Children’s Hospital: Discussion (9 Oct 2024)
Martin Conway: Does the Minister expect it in the next couple of weeks? I presume it will not be a couple of months but a couple of weeks.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Children’s Hospital: Discussion (9 Oct 2024)
Martin Conway: Good.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Children’s Hospital: Discussion (9 Oct 2024)
Martin Conway: With regard to the cost of €2.2 billion, my understanding is that there are claims of over €900 million. Again, realistically, we have to be prepared that the cost of the hospital is going to be in excess of €2.2 billion. Ultimately, some of these claims will be settled in the courts. I would like the Minister's view on the €2.2 billion. I assume, and I think...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Children’s Hospital: Discussion (9 Oct 2024)
Martin Conway: I will put it to the Minister another way then.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Children’s Hospital: Discussion (9 Oct 2024)
Martin Conway: We have to be realistic because we are talking about taxpayers' money. We have to be somewhat forthright with people. Has the Minister at any stage looked at designing out some of what has been proposed for the hospital in order to keep it in budget or to reduce the budget?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Children’s Hospital: Discussion (9 Oct 2024)
Martin Conway: Did the Minister at any stage over the past four years look at designing out any of the components or some of what might be considered non-essentials?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Children’s Hospital: Discussion (9 Oct 2024)
Martin Conway: At any stage, did the Minister look for resignations along the way in terms of the constant overruns from any of the board? The accountability issues are important and while the Minister might not like people asking the questions, he would have asked them himself. Indeed, when the Minister was before the committee as a Deputy, he asked the very hard questions and rightly so. I am asking...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Children’s Hospital: Discussion (9 Oct 2024)
Martin Conway: This has obviously continued.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Children’s Hospital: Discussion (9 Oct 2024)
Martin Conway: Obviously the Minister made a decision at a particular point that he needed to move the engagement and discussions with BAM in a different direction. In the past week or two, the Minister met with the Royal BAM Group. Does the Minister think it would be useful for the Royal BAM Group to come into this committee to give its side of the story?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Children’s Hospital: Discussion (9 Oct 2024)
Martin Conway: The Minister made obviously well-founded charges from his perspective regarding the financial situation and gave a view to the Taoiseach in his letter. If I was the Royal BAM Group, I would have been very upset and annoyed about that. I sincerely hope that relations have not irreversibly broken down and that we will see the type of commitments the Minister is hoping for in the coming weeks.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Children’s Hospital: Discussion (9 Oct 2024)
Martin Conway: On a point of order, can the Deputy explain that?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Children’s Hospital: Discussion (9 Oct 2024)
Martin Conway: There are two sides to the story. I want to be fair. We have a responsibility. Obviously, the Minister's clearest objective is to open what we know, when it is completed, will be the best hospital in the world. I am very confident and hopeful that this will happen. However, it is coming at a cost and with delays. We have a responsibility here to interrogate and drill down to see why...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Children’s Hospital: Discussion (9 Oct 2024)
Martin Conway: I knew that. I appreciate that because I never had any engagement. I had never spoken to the people.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Children’s Hospital: Discussion (9 Oct 2024)
Martin Conway: Okay, I thank the Deputy.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Children’s Hospital: Discussion (9 Oct 2024)
Martin Conway: The REOs are on approximately €330,000 annually.