Health Minister casts doubt on Children’s Hospital completion date
By Cillian Sherlock, PA
The Health Minister has cast doubt over whether construction at the new national children’s hospital will be completed by September.
The serially-delayed project in Dublin had an original completion date of August 2022, while costs have ballooned from a planned €650 million to an expected €2.2 billion.
After the completion of construction by main contractor BAM, the hospital will also require a commission period of between six and nine months before it is ready for use.
Asked about progress at the site on Wednesday, Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill said: “The single biggest concern I have at the moment is with BAM, is with the fact that there are half the number of contractors on site than there had been at the end of last year.”
She said there were previously 800-900 on site every week at the end of 2024 compared to around 400-500 now.
The minister added that, based on the most recent information she had, BAM was not drawing down the full amount available to it to carry out work and bring in sub-contractors.
“We have provisioned to pay BAM 10 million euro a month, from which they’ve been drawing down – by most recent information about – 2.8-3 million euro.”
The minister explained that based on the activity necessary to complete the hospital, BAM would be drawing down closer to the full 10 million euro amount.
“I’d rather be paying the 10 million euro, because then that would be the appropriate number of contractors on site.”
Ms Carroll MacNeill said she also concerned that the work is not being done “in a logical and sequential way”.
The minister added: “BAM have clear contractual commitments to this State – the State will enforce those contractual commitments and we will not be held by anybody, most especially BAM the contractor – that has been and continues to be paid for delivering a hospital on time.”
Ms Carroll MacNeill said she would be looking at progress made over the coming weeks and added: “Obviously, I expect BAM to have the maximum number of contractors there to deliver the hospital as they have committed to, and that is a question for BAM.
“And I would suggest that it’s a matter for their local and global reputation, that they honour their contractual commitment to the Irish State, and that there’s evidence of them doing so, because at the moment I don’t have that evidence.”
She said any further delay on construction, which would impact the start date for commissioning, would be “unacceptable”.
BAM has been contacted for comment.
