Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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228. To ask the Minister for Health if he will have the issues raised in correspondence (details supplied) and similar concerns expressed by persons regarding the provision of the new national children's hospital considered; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11074/17]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The project to develop the new children’s hospital is an extraordinary opportunity to enhance paediatric services for children. The Government decision in 2012 to locate the hospital on St James’s Hospital campus was made in the best interests of children from a clinical perspective. St. James's has the broadest range of national specialties of all our acute hospitals, in addition to a strong and well-established research and education infrastructure, making it the hospital that best meets the criteria to enable the children’s hospital achieve our vision of excellence in modern paediatric practice.

As announced in June 2015, the Coombe Women and Infants University Hospital will relocate to the campus in time, achieving tri-location of adult, paediatric and maternity services. Tri-location has benefits for children, adolescents, newborns and mothers. In all cases, the benefits of tri-location are maximised where the adult hospital provides the broadest possible range of clinical sub-specialties and expertise, which are readily accessible for paediatric and maternity patients on the shared campus. Also, tri-location that delivers the most significant breadth and depth of clinical and academic research on site will enhance the potential of research to drive best clinical outcomes.

Furthermore, excellence in modern paediatric practice cannot be achieved without an embedded culture of, and focus on, research, education and innovation. More than a hospital, the new children’s hospital and satellite centres will be a research-intensive academic healthcare institution. To deliver this vision, the main facilities for research and innovation will be located at the Children’s Research and Innovation Centre on the St James’s campus. This facility will be located adjacent to the existing Institute of Molecular Medicine, a cross university facility which delivers both undergraduate and postgraduate education and has a strong research platform in cancer, infection and immunity and neurosciences. This direct adjacency reflects one of the many and significant opportunities being leveraged by co-locating on the campus with St James’s Hospital, with its rich history in clinical research. Clinical management and research staff at the new children’s hospital will be able to study, evaluate, and improve the healthcare services provided to children and young people in Ireland.

A major milestone was achieved in this long awaited, much needed project when An Bord Pleánala granted planning permission in April 2016 to build a state of the art hospital on a campus shared with St. James’s Hospital, together with two Paediatric Outpatients and Urgent Care centres at Tallaght Hospital and Connolly Hospital. The first phase of construction (site clearing works) on the site of the new children’s hospital began in August 2016 and will be substantially completed within a matter of weeks.

I wish to again reassure parents and families that the plans and design for the hospital recognise the need of most families to access the hospital by car, while noting that the campus is better served by public transport than any other hospital in the country. In relation to parking, as approved by an Bord Pleanála, the plans for the new children's hospital provide for 1,000 car parking spaces, of which 675 will be dedicated for use by families, three times the number currently available at the three Dublin children's hospitals combined. Parents will be able to reserve their space ahead of arriving at the hospital. The National Paediatric Hospital Development Board, the statutory body responsible for planning, designing, building and equipping the new children's hospital has confirmed that this level of parking provision will facilitate 100% car parking provision for inpatient, daycase and emergency attendances, and 65 car parking provision for outpatient attendances. The car parking stock and appointment schedules will be actively managed to ensure that all patients wishing to avail of parking will be facilitated. In addition, a condition of the planning permission granted by An Bord Pleanála is that a minimum of 20 spaces be marked and designated as 'parent and child' spaces and reserved for parents of children with specific needs (equipment etc.) and there will also be 27 specific car parking spaces provided for emergency drop-off parking.

In relation to access to the site, the planning application included a traffic management and traffic mobility plan for the construction and operational phase which was endorsed by the National Transport Authority and Dublin City Council. A 10-day oral hearing took place in December 2015 in which traffic evidence was presented in detail and allowed for cross questioning by those who had concerns. Planning permission was granted in April 2016 without change to the proposed traffic and mobility plan. An Bord Pleanála's inspector's report, which includes assessment and recommendations in relation to traffic impact at construction and operational stages, can be found at .