Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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To ask the Minister for Health the projected costs associated with the building of a new children's hospital and the way it will be funded. [14781/13]

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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To ask the Minister for Health when a new design for the National Children's Hospital will be completed and published. [14784/13]

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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To ask the Minister for Health the indicative time frame for the planning and building of the new National Children's Hospital. [14785/13]

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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To ask the Minister for Health the work being undertaken since St James' Hospital site was chosen as a location to develop a National Children's Hospital on 6 November 2012 [14787/13]

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 517, 520, 521 and 523 together.

The decision to locate the new children's hospital on the St James's campus was announced on 6 November 2012. Co-location, and ultimately tri-location with a maternity hospital, on the St James's campus will support the provision of excellence in clinical care that our children deserve. The new children’s hospital is a key commitment in the Programme for Government and the largest project within the current Capital Plan.

Following the announcement of the Government's decision, detailed consideration was given to the project management structures and governance arrangements required to enable delivery of the project as quickly as possible and to the highest quality. It is my intention to restructure the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (NPHDB) so that it focuses on the core function of planning, designing, building and equipping the new hospital. The membership of the restructured Board will align with this core function and include the necessary capital development expertise. As the terms of office of the majority of Board members expired on 5 December I have appointed senior representatives from my Department and the HSE as an interim measure pending the required legislation, with the aim of ensuring effective governance and decision-making for the project during this transitional phase.

At this important initial stage it is crucial that the project continues without delay. Work has been progressing in relation to the site and site preparation, representatives of the HSE and St. James's Hospital are meeting regularly to progress plans for the necessary enabling and decant work and that a joint team has been put in place to progress this critical early stage work with a robust timetable. A review of urgent care centre(s) configuration is underway; the Dolphin report concluded that the existing plan for the Ambulatory and Urgent Care Centre in Tallaght would need to be revisited in light of any decision about the location of the new children's hospital. This review is expected to be complete within the coming weeks; this will be a key decision, the outcome of which will be a core factor in finalising the scale of the facilities required on the St James's campus and informing the design. While much of the work that has been done for the project in its previous location on the Mater site is transferable to the new site, a new design for the new site is required and in this regard a priority now for the NPHDB is the procurement of a new design team.

In relation to costs, the totality of the costs for the project in its new location will be determined as part of the updated business case to be finalised by the NPHDB. Funding for the project is secure in the Capital Plan, while it is intended that a proportion of the funding will come from a number of sources, e.g. education and research bodies, research foundations, commercial enterprises, philanthropy and other sources. In addition, up to €200m can be made available from the sale of the National Lottery.

The timelines for delivery of this extremely large and complex capital project will require to be established, examined and kept under continuous review by those charged with project delivery. This Government regards the building of the hospital as a priority and no effort will be spared in expediting its completion.

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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To ask the Minister for Health when legislation regarding the new National Children's Hospital at St James' Hospital Dublin will be produced. [14782/13]

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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To ask the Minister for Health when he will announce a new board, including new chair, for the development of the National Children's Hospital at the St James' Hospital site in Dublin. [14783/13]

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 518 and 519 together.

The decision to locate the new children's hospital on the campus of St James's Hospital was announced on 6 November 2012. Co-location, and ultimately tri-location with a maternity hospital, with St James's will support the provision of excellence in clinical care that our children deserve.

Following the announcement of the Government's decision, I gave detailed consideration to the project management structures and governance arrangements required to enable delivery of the project as quickly as possible and to the highest quality and it is my intention to restructure the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board so that it focuses solely on the capital project. The membership of the restructured Board will align with this core function and hence include the necessary skills, experience and expertise in complex healthcare capital projects. The restructuring of the Board will require primary legislation and work is ongoing in relation to the preparation of heads of a Bill in this regard. In parallel, consideration is being given to the appointment of Board members with the required competencies.

Pending the necessary changes, it is crucial that the project continues without delay during this transitional phase. As the terms of office of the majority of Board members expired on 5 December, I have therefore appointed senior representatives from my Department and the HSE to the Board as an interim measure aimed at ensuring effective governance and decision-making for the project.

This Government's priority is to ensure that the project proceeds securely to completion as quickly as possible and with optimal results. I am confident that the project management and governance structures now being put in place will enable the fastest possible delivery of this key infrastructure for children’s hospital services.