Ballymun facility: A health centre in north Dublin which cost €48 million to build has been lying idle for almost two years because it was constructed without Department of Health approval.
The delay in opening the Ballymun centre had been blamed on the Department of Health for refusing to provide the €8 million required to fit it out.
The Northern Area Health Board (NAHB), in whose region the centre was built, had said several times it was in negotiation with the Eastern Regional Health Authority (ERHA) and the Department over fit-out costs.
Now, however, the real reason for the delay in opening the centre has emerged. The Minister for Health, Ms Harney, said the former Eastern Health Board and its successors, the ERHA and the NAHB, in conjunction with Ballymun Regeneration Limited (BRL), a subsidiary of Dublin City Council, proceeded with the development "in the absence of my Department's involvement or approval. Consequently, my Department must conduct an evaluation of this project."
Replying to a Dáil question from Labour TD Ms Roisin Shortall, Ms Harney said the evaluation began after the board sought funding for the centre and had concentrated on compliance with procurement requirements. "Once the evaluation is completed, my Department will be in a position to make a recommendation in respect of the provision of funding for this project."
Yesterday the NAHB said while it agreed in principle with BRL to become a major sub-tenant in the Ballymun civic centre, the board had made it clear its participation was subject to approval and funding at ERHA and Department of Health level. But a BRL spokeswoman said the health centre was developed with the NAHB and it understood the project had been processed by the health board and the ERHA through the Department of Health "in the normal way".