Barry Cowen (Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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143. To ask the Minister for Health if the national maternity hospital capital project has commenced; if so, the stage the project is at; when the project is expected to go out for tender; when construction will commence; when the project will be completed; the estimated cost of the project; the amount spent to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38058/19]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The Health Service Executive recently published its Capital Plan for 2019-2021 outlining 250 projects to be progressed over the three-year period.

The Capital Plan includes the relocation of the National Maternity Hospital from Holles Street to the St Vincent's University Hospital campus.

The Health Service Executive is responsible for the delivery of public healthcare infrastructure projects and has advised that the enabling works for this project are currently underway, including the construction of the decant facility comprising the new pharmacy block and an extension to the carpark at St Vincent's Hospital. These works will facilitate the construction of the new hospital, which is expected to commence in late 2020 or early 2021.

It is important to recognise that all capital development proposals must progress through a number of approval stages, in line with the Public Spending Code, including detailed appraisal, planning, design and procurement, before a firm timeline or funding requirement can be established.  The final decision to proceed with the construction of a project cannot be made until the tender process has been completed and the costings reviewed to ensure that the proposal delivers value for money and remains affordable, and that sufficient funding is available to fund the project to completion, including equipping and commissioning costs.

The delivery of capital projects is a dynamic process and is subject to the successful completion of the various approval stages, which can impact on the timeline for delivery.

The HSE actively manages the capital programme in order to ensure it has flexibility to progress as many projects as possible within the available funding, particularly in the event of any project not progressing as anticipated.

The HSE has advised that the capital expenditure to date in 2019 for this project is €11.44m (as at August) and the expected full year spend for 2019 is estimated at €24m.