Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Senator Humphreys makes a very fair point that, clearly, lessons need to be learned, and that is 100% correct. I am pleased to inform him and the Seanad that, when we were looking at this issue recently, the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, brought forward a number of sensible, constructive proposals in regard to the approval process and the oversight process, not, as the Senator rightly said, just for this project but also for all large capital projects. Thankfully, we are back in a period when we will be spending a lot of capital, and we need to see that spent on delivering projects and minimising overruns. I agree with him on that.

Senator Humphreys asked about the National Maternity Hospital. I will write to him to reply but let me tell him this much now. I was able, just before Christmas, to inform the Government that enough progress had been made on a number of important issues in regard to governance and ownership that I could advise the Government that we should proceed with the new pharmacy building and the car park at St. Vincent's. That approval has been given and those works are, therefore, under way. As the Senator knows, given he has taken a very active interest in this project, the planning permission is in place. I hope we will be able to go to tender later this year, around the summer, but that is subject to the finalisation of some agreements. Obviously, the final costs of the project will not be known until the tender is in, so I do not wish to second-guess that. I will certainly keep the Senator informed on this matter.

I do not feel I need to convince Senators of this. There is huge benefit in regard to this hospital. We are not just going to build one hospital but a hospital with a centre at Connolly and another at Tallaght. This is not about a Dublin hospital; it is going to transform the model of care for all of our kids. We will go from 14 theatres to 22 theatres, from two MRIs to five MRIs, with room for more, and there will be an increase in the number of CAT scan machines. This will have a dramatic effect on waiting times for our kids. Recruitment is actively under way for these facilities and a huge body of work has already taken place that we have not even had a chance to discuss. At the end of last year, these Houses passed the Children's Health Bill, where we took Crumlin Children's Hospital, Temple Street Children's Hospital and the paediatric part of Tallaght Hospital and brought them together as a new statutory entity to deliver for children's healthcare in Ireland. That is now the entity. Even though we have three sites at Crumlin, Temple Street and Tallaght, we have one body, Children's Health Ireland, delivering healthcare for children across the country, which is real progress.

I look forward to the Connolly facility opening later this year, the Tallaght facility opening next year and the St. James's facility opening in 2023. I look forward to the lessons of the PwC report being learned by all, as Senator Colm Burke said, and being published so we can scrutinise them in these Houses and at committees, and to keeping the Seanad informed as we deliver this transformational project.