‘Confident’ ministers give likely date for opening of scandal-plagued National Children’s Hospital as DoH reveals when construction will FINALLY end – but a Government blame-game plan tells a VERY different story…
Senior ministers who have been briefed on the progress of the National Children’s Hospital (NCH) are ‘confident’ some patients will be treated at the much-delayed hospital before the end of the year, Cabinet sources told the Irish Mail on Sunday.
It comes as the Department of Health this weekend said construction work on the hospital – which has been plagued by delays and cost overruns – will be completed by the end of August.
The department declined to nail its colours to the mast on when the €2.2billion-plus facility will open its doors to its first patients.
But its willingness to set a firm date for the completion of works is something of a departure considering the hospital has missed 19 deadlines, almost tripled in projected costs and become a political millstone for successive governments.
In response to queries from the MoS, the Department of Health said the builder BAM’s ‘programme includes current indicative timelines that point to completion towards the end of the summer’.
BAM Ireland, which has led the NCH project in Dublin’s south inner city, has often found itself in open conflict with the Government and the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (NPHDB)
BAM Ireland, which has led the NCH project in Dublin’s south inner city, has often found itself in open conflict with the Government and the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (NPHDB), the body appointed in 2013 to design, build and equip the hospital.
And relations with BAM remain so bad that Cabinet sources told the MoS there are preparations behind-the-scenes to point the finger of blame at the builders if the hospital is not up and running by the end of the year.
Asked if the completed construction date would allow the Department to provide a concrete date for the hospital’s opening, a spokesman would only say: ‘The programme provided by BAM is currently under review by the Employer’s Representative [NPHDB].
‘BAM’s programme includes current indicative timelines that point to completion towards the end of the summer.
‘However, this remains subject to validation and testing by the independent Employer’s Representative [NCH], a process that takes a number of weeks to complete. This is nearing completion.’
While the Department, headed by Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, stressed communications in relation to the hospital’s progress are between the NPHDB and BAM, some senior ministers are also being briefed on the project.
While Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill’s department stressed that communications in relation to the hospital’s progress are between the NPHDB and BAM, some senior ministers are also being briefed on the project
A Cabinet source told the MoS: ‘Since this hospital has cost €2.2billion to date and is politically explosive for so many of us, we receive frequent updates from the departments of Health and Public Expenditure.
‘And those briefings have confirmed this end of summer delivery date, which is, we are told, the end of August. From what we are told, though the hospital won’t be purring like a big engine, we are very confident that some patients could be receiving treatment at the NCH by December 2026.
‘Let’s put it this way, there is significant political pressure coming on the NCH board and BAM to have these deadlines – summer delivery and the December operational deadline – met.’
Despite the increased political pressure on deadlines, a number of senior Government sources this week said they have become aware of further problems that could further delay the hospital’s opening.
The Iirish National Children’s Hospital is now predicted to be open to patients towards the end of summer 2026
Cabinet sources said they understood there was a ‘problem with a floor’. While sources at the Department of Health said additional issues had emerged with the installation of a telecommunications system.
However, the Health Department categorically denied any new issues have arisen with the building.
A spokesman told the MoS: ‘The National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (NPHDB) and Children’s Health Ireland (CHI) have obtained early access to the first floor of the hot block and are currently installing equipment in this space.
‘This is progressing as planned and with no issues.
‘CHI has confirmed there are no emerging issues with the internal telecommunication systems.’
The initial budget for the NCH was €600milllion, which has snowballed to €2.2billion and is expected to climb further before all works have been completed.
