Results 1-20 of 1,028,087 for in 'Dáil debates' OR (speaker:Ciarán Cuffe OR speaker:Marc Ó Cathasaigh OR speaker:Hildegarde Naughton OR speaker:Cormac Devlin) in 'Committee meetings'
- Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2022: National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (30 May 2024)
Marc Ó Cathasaigh: I apologise that I missed some of the contributions. use I was speaking in the Dáil, so I apologise if I repeat some questions that were put previously. Deputy Kelly began by citing “Room to Improve”. Unfortunately, a different programme comes to mind here. It is one of the episodes of "Killinaskully" in which the Pat Shortt character is selling concrete frogs. The...
- Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2022: National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (30 May 2024)
Marc Ó Cathasaigh: Regarding that timeline, what is the baseline date? We see it slip and slip. We are now hearing February 2025 for a substantial completion date, which is a difficult date to believe when we do not have a baseline programme. If we are pursuing the contractor for these damages after the fact, what is the baseline against? What was the expected date?
- Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2022: National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (30 May 2024)
Marc Ó Cathasaigh: Okay, so we can expect the process after the fact, and probably a contested process after the fact, to seek-----
- Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2022: National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (30 May 2024)
Marc Ó Cathasaigh: Which will cost time and money, as all of these things do. The last time Mr. Gunning was with us, he was quite sanguine about the number of contractors on site and the substantial completion date we had been given at that time, which has slipped as of this morning. He felt that, through robust engagement with the contractors, he was seeing enough boots on the ground to make that timeline...
- Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2022: National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (30 May 2024)
Marc Ó Cathasaigh: Regarding when Mr. Gunning was supplied this, I assume that in preparation for his appearance before the Committee of Public Accounts today, he engaged with the contractors and told them, “We will be answerable to the Oireachtas; please give us updated substantial completion dates,” or whatever it is. When did that process happen? Where my question is going with this is there...
- Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2022: National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (30 May 2024)
Marc Ó Cathasaigh: When was that most recent information provided to Mr. Gunning?
- Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2022: National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (30 May 2024)
Marc Ó Cathasaigh: I am stating the obvious but it becomes clear that the relationship between the development board and the contractor is not the one that we would hope for, whereby Mr. Gunning could pick up the phone to somebody and say, “How are you there, Tom? How are things going? What is the latest?” Of course, it has to be a formalised process because of the amount of money we are...
- Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2022: National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (30 May 2024)
Marc Ó Cathasaigh: Good. That is better than what was existing in my head, so I am glad Mr. Gunning clarified it.
- Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2022: National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (30 May 2024)
Cormac Devlin: I welcome back our witnesses this morning and thank them for the information they have supplied. Things have progressed since our most recent engagement. It is clear from the imagery the board has supplied and from our site visit that things have substantially progressed, which is good to see, but so too have the costs and so too has the timeline. I will take the Cathaoirleach's last...
- Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2022: National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (30 May 2024)
Cormac Devlin: Correct.
- Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2022: National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (30 May 2024)
Cormac Devlin: In a nutshell, would Mr. Gunning agree that the State is in a true bind here, contract or no contract? Whatever about elements and clauses of the contract, and repercussions of elements not being adhered to in the contract, the State is at the behest of BAM in order to finish this project out. Is that right?
- Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2022: National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (30 May 2024)
Cormac Devlin: No, I appreciate that.
- Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2022: National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (30 May 2024)
Cormac Devlin: I will explain what I am trying to say. When we are sitting here at the Committee of Public Accounts in February 2025, Mr. Gunning might come before us again to say that BAM has now told the board that it will be June 2025 or December 2025 before this is substantially complete. It does not matter when or what year for the purposes of the point I am making. Is Mr. Gunning really telling us...
- Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2022: National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (30 May 2024)
Cormac Devlin: That is the crux of the position. I know.
- Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2022: National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (30 May 2024)
Cormac Devlin: In an ideal world, it would be someone from BAM sitting in Mr. Gunning’s seat. I am sure Mr. Gunning would love if someone from BAM were sitting in his seat, just as we would prefer to have someone from BAM in here. From what I am hearing - we also heard this at our previous engagement, as colleagues said earlier - the number of staff who have been allocated to this project has...
- Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2022: National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (30 May 2024)
Cormac Devlin: I appreciate that but the costs when this hospital was first mooted are unrecognisable from what they are today. I understand that there are physical changes - we saw this when we were on site - and I accept that needs in the design have changed as well. Mr. Devine made the point earlier about the 23,000 new drawings and so on. I appreciate that things change. Anyone who has been involved...
- Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2022: National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (30 May 2024)
Cormac Devlin: We wish you well with that. We hope not to be in this position again with further increases. I have another question for Mr. Gunning. His opening statement referred to the fact that the board is co-ordinating the 52-bedroom Ronald McDonald House. How does that fit into the project? It is obviously a not-for-profit building and organisation. It is not incorporated into the actual physical...
- Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2022: National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (30 May 2024)
Cormac Devlin: It is not as big as some of the others.
- Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2022: National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (30 May 2024)
Cormac Devlin: Am I right in saying that there is underground connectivity between the hospital and the house itself?
- Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2022: National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (30 May 2024)
Cormac Devlin: Would I also be right in saying that there are approximately 600 car parking spaces allocated at the children’s hospital and the families in those 52 units will be able to avail of car parking spaces?