National Children’s Hospital cost and timeframe overruns seriously damaging public confidence – Neville

Constant changes to costs and timeframes from the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (NPHDB) in relation to the National Children’s Hospital is impacting confidence among the public, a Fine Gael TD has said.

Speaking at the Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee meeting this morning Deputy Joe Neville said: “Once completed, the National Children’s Hospital will be a world class life saving facility which will positively impact the healthcare received by children from all over Ireland for the next 50 to 100 years. The benefits seen from the completed project will undoubtedly overshadow the costs and time it has taken to build the hospital.

“As a member of the Public Accounts Committee, it is my role to scrutinise how taxpayers’ money is spent and to get the best value for money for taxpayers. I am bringing my knowledge from both my personal training with PWC as an Auditor and as a Chartered Accountant to this role.

“There are currently 3,277 outstanding contractor claims which have been received by the NPHDB and are at various stages of processing. Additional costs from any of these claims found to be substantial will be incurred and added onto the current overall cost of the project, which currently is at €2.24 billion.

“The date of completion of this vital project has now shifted 15 times and when asked this morning if they have faith in the main contractor in the project, BAM, the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board simply responded ‘no’”. This is damaging public confidence on the handling of the delivery of the hospital.

“The current anticipated date for children to start to receive care in the hospital is June 2026. This date must remain immovable, so the public’s confidence isn’t undermined any further. The care which will be provided to our children at the earliest date must remain the sole focus for all stakeholders.”