Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank all the Senators who made contributions to the debate today. I have listened carefully to the views and concerns, many of which I share. What I have heard from most speakers is two things: will we please get on and build the hospital, which we are going to do, and will we please make sure, in the building of the hospital, that we get value for the taxpayer and that lessons are learned in regard to other capital projects. I heard a number of local but legitimate and important concerns for the community raised by Senators Devine and Ardagh, and I will certainly follow up in regard to those matters and will revert directly to both Senators. However, I hear a general agreement from most that the children of Ireland and their families deserve this modern hospital and have been waiting too long.

A very important point that I made in my opening contribution is that this is now under way. I will answer Senator Mullen's questions shortly but when I hear debates about where it should be, I find it odd at this stage because the hospital is under way, €200 million has already been spent and the foundations are well in place. Anyone visiting or driving by the St. James's site who looks down will see building well under way. The Connolly part of the hospital is actually due to open this year, will start serving children this year and will see outpatient appointments take place this year, and the X-ray facilities, for example, were delivered to the hospital in recent weeks.

With regard to Senator Mullen's specific questions, I thought I had dealt with this issue at the health committee but perhaps not to his satisfaction. When we deal with the cost overrun, it is important to point out that the cost overrun relates to a decision to build on the St. James's site and the approval for that in April 2017, and the cost of the St. James's site now. It is not a comparison with the building of another site. The amount the Government budgeted, which was €983 million in April 2017, was for the St. James's site and the current cost projection is also for the St. James's site. The Senator asked would it have been cheaper to build it on another site but I think that misses a number of points. It misses the fact that building on a greenfield site would not have seen the benefits of not just bilocation but of trilocation. A point on which I agree with Senator Mullen, and I am sure we all agree, is that we need a maternity site located there as well. It is the plan for the St. James's site to have the St. James's adult acute teaching hospital, which is there now, serving our population, and to have the new national children's hospital and the Coombe Hospital relocated to that site.