Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

541. To ask the Minister for Health to outline the progress made on the development of the national children's hospital since the selection of the site at St. James's Hospital in autumn 2012; the timelines for the next steps in the process; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29998/15]

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 the Coombe Women and Infants University Hospital, which will re-locate to the campus in due course. Since the decision to locate the hospital at the St. James's campus, the Board's initial focus was on decant planning; site surveys and investigations; design team procurement; and review and update of the Project Brief to take account of the new site. The revised Project Brief also took account of the outcome of a review of the location, model and number of urgent care centres which was undertaken in 2013. Following that review, which involved significant consultation with the relevant stakeholders, it was decided that satellite centres, which will share governance and staffing with the new children's hospital, will be built on the campuses of Tallaght and Connolly Hospitals.

The Development Board submitted the Project Brief to the Department of Health in May 2014 for the Minister’s consent and separately to the HSE for approval, in line with the approval process set out in the Board’s Establishment Order (SI 246 of 2007). Minister Reilly informed the Government on 1 July 2014 of his consent and HSE approval. The Project Brief sets out details of the specialties to be provided and the planned accommodation. The design team was appointed in August 2014 and commenced work on the detailed design development. A planning submission is to be made in the coming weeks. 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.