Results 1-20 of 1,041,971 for in 'Dáil debates' OR in 'Committee meetings' (speaker:Declan Breathnach OR speaker:Mick Barry OR speaker:Neasa Hourigan OR speaker:Micheál Martin)

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Update on Construction of New National Children's Hospital: National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (25 Sep 2024)

Neasa Hourigan: I wish to focus on the baseline programme and commissioning, but before I do, I will come back quickly to the legal claims part. Just for clarification, it is my understanding, only because so many projects would run into a problem if this was the case, that ongoing legal claims or litigation are not necessarily a barrier to handover.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Update on Construction of New National Children's Hospital: National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (25 Sep 2024)

Neasa Hourigan: It is important we say that. I wish to take a minute to look at some of the change orders. On the issue of claims, one of the more significant change orders that has been discussed here previously has been the operating theatre grilles. Is that a live claim? I thank the witnesses for such substantial briefing documents. It states in the briefing documents that they have not withdrawn...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Update on Construction of New National Children's Hospital: National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (25 Sep 2024)

Neasa Hourigan: How long has it been live?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Update on Construction of New National Children's Hospital: National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (25 Sep 2024)

Neasa Hourigan: So it has been nine months of legal wrangling about a claim that will probably be withdrawn.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Update on Construction of New National Children's Hospital: National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (25 Sep 2024)

Neasa Hourigan: For the public the question is whether there are more legal staff now working on this hospital than there are builders on site.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Update on Construction of New National Children's Hospital: National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (25 Sep 2024)

Neasa Hourigan: Moving to the operating theatres, it would be helpful for me to do a deep dive on a particular change order. Change orders would be standard on a domestic house. It would not be unheard of, nor would variations in drawings or further clarification. I am just trying to understand the involvement of subcontractors or even third-party advice on behalf of the development board. The board...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Update on Construction of New National Children's Hospital: National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (25 Sep 2024)

Neasa Hourigan: It was reduced by BAM.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Update on Construction of New National Children's Hospital: National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (25 Sep 2024)

Neasa Hourigan: Does that €200,000 include the advice that was contracted from international experts? Much of the stuff to do with high-level hospitals is effectively proprietary and the work is quite international.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Update on Construction of New National Children's Hospital: National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (25 Sep 2024)

Neasa Hourigan: That brings me to commissioning. At this committee and others, every time substantial completion is talked about, commissioning has to be added in. We have always talked about six to eight months. Is the board happy with that as a number?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Update on Construction of New National Children's Hospital: National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (25 Sep 2024)

Neasa Hourigan: There is a grey area here, however. There is an overlap in respect of some of the very complex systems such as the MRI machines and CT scanners that live in the substantial completion part. Is that correct?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Update on Construction of New National Children's Hospital: National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (25 Sep 2024)

Neasa Hourigan: Mr. Gunning described how CHI cannot go into the rooms it would have expected to be completed to start its work because they are simply not complete.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Update on Construction of New National Children's Hospital: National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (25 Sep 2024)

Neasa Hourigan: When we are discussing what we call specialist equipment, in Mr. Gunning's opening statement, there was a piece regarding the board and ClearSphere. It says that the radiopharmacy units and stem cell laboratory should be beginning in September. Have they commenced?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Update on Construction of New National Children's Hospital: National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (25 Sep 2024)

Neasa Hourigan: Is that all of them?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Update on Construction of New National Children's Hospital: National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (25 Sep 2024)

Neasa Hourigan: Is ClearSphere starting now or did it start at the beginning of the month?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Update on Construction of New National Children's Hospital: National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (25 Sep 2024)

Neasa Hourigan: In my last two and a half minutes, I will ask for clarity as regards the baseline programme. The last time we talked, we were talking about BAM submitting programmes that were then not accepted by the board. I am trying to get some clarity on the board's opening statement. It outlines the many times the completion date has been pushed out, which we are all aware of, but I am trying to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Update on Construction of New National Children's Hospital: National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (25 Sep 2024)

Neasa Hourigan: I did, yes.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Update on Construction of New National Children's Hospital: National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (25 Sep 2024)

Neasa Hourigan: Was there a compliant programme in place from July of last year?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Update on Construction of New National Children's Hospital: National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (25 Sep 2024)

Neasa Hourigan: Am I right in thinking that there is still no compliant programme in place between the board and BAM?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Update on Construction of New National Children's Hospital: National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (25 Sep 2024)

Neasa Hourigan: Am I to infer from what the witnesses have told us that the times BAM has tried to change the finishing point were when it was submitting a programme the board felt to be non-compliant?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Update on Construction of New National Children's Hospital: National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (25 Sep 2024)

Neasa Hourigan: The witnesses are describing a process whereby a staff member is working with BAM to agree a compliant programme. When will that come to fruition? Is there a time on the horizon when there will be a compliant programme?