Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

136. To ask the Minister for Health the current position in regard to the provision of the new children's hospital; the extent to which the necessary provision has been made to date in terms of forward planning, site preparation and utilisation of data available from previous proposals in this regard; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21193/15]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The National Paediatric Hospital Development Board is the statutory body responsible for planning, designing, building and equipping the new children's hospital. The new hospital will be co-located with St James's Hospital, and ultimately tri-located with a maternity hospital to be developed on campus. In addition to the main hospital, the project includes two satellite centres at the campuses of Tallaght and Connolly Hospitals.

Much of the work undertaken for the project on the Mater site was transferable to the project in its new location. This includes in particular development of activity projections and capacity requirements, development of functional requirements, and decisions on workflow, adjacency planning and logistics. This work has been built on in developing the preliminary Project Brief for the hospital on the St James's campus, which was approved in 2014 and which sets out details of the specialties to be provided and the planned accommodation.

Site surveys and investigations have been completed, decant plans are being progressed, and a design team is working on detailed design development with planning submission to be made in mid-2015. Subject to planning, work is scheduled to commence at the main site at St. James's, and at satellite centre sites at Connolly and Tallaght, in early 2016.

I hope this provides some clarification on the matter.