Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly has said it would be “naive” to think issues around the delayed completion of the new National Children’s Hospital are “sorted” following a meeting with the contractor behind the project.
In recent weeks, it emerged the new substantial completion date for the €2.2 billion hospital is June 2025, the 14th substantial completion date the contractor has provided.
However, the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (NPHDB), the body overseeing the project, said it could not express confidence in this date being met.
It was the latest development in the row over construction of the new hospital, which has been hit by successive delays and spiralling cost overruns.
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Speaking at a meeting of the Oireachtas Health Committee on Wednesday, chairwoman of the board Fiona Ross said there has been “significant engagement” with key stakeholders throughout the process but “things changed when the June date became apparent”.
At this point, the board agreed there was a need for political intervention, she said.
Mr Donnelly said the view of the board was “any attempt at partnership had really run its course” and that “a fundamentally different approach was needed”.
The Minister held a meeting with Royal BAM, the parent company of the main contractor, BAM Ireland, and they had a “very clear and forthright” discussion.
“I asked Royal BAM to stand over that date. They did stand over that date. They have gone back now to really interrogate that,” he said.
“Given deadlines have come and gone we would all be naive to come away and think that’s sorted. I think it was a productive meeting, a respectful meeting and a pretty frank exchange of views.”
Mr Donnelly said the purpose of the meeting was he didn’t have confidence in the June completion date, and following the engagement he is “reserving judgment on that”.
The Minister added that he sought Royal BAM’s commitment to provide early access for Children’s Health Ireland’s commissioning team to expedite some operational commissioning activities. Mr Donnelly said this could “accelerate the opening of this hospital potentially by several months”.
The committee was told there will be 100,000 pieces of equipment that have to be brought in to the hospital, as well as 36,000 individual pieces of equipment that have to be connected within the hospital.
Mr Donnelly added that he is “laser focused” on having the healthcare facility opened by the end of next year, but said it depends on the building firm committing to their completion date of June 2025.
However, he added there would have to be clinical input in relation to this, as the commissioning team and CHI have “very strongly stated previously that a transition in winter is not what is preferred because of the pressures we’re all aware of”.
According to Mr Donnelly, lessons have been learned in terms of the way in which large capital projects are tendered and procured, and changes have been put in place for other hospital projects that are due to be constructed in the State.
In a statement on Wednesday, BAM said it welcomes the recent “forthright and robust engagement” with the Minister and department officials.
“We have continuously stated our belief that the best way to deliver the completed national children’s hospital as quickly and efficiently as possible is for all parties to work together collaboratively,” it said.
“BAM has committed to meeting the substantive completion date of June 2025 subject to no further substantive design changes instructed by the NPHDB.”
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