Almost €40m 'wasted' on Children's Hospital project
Nearly €40m of taxpayers' money has been spent on the doomed bid to build the National Children's Hospital at the Mater in Dublin.
The figure is revealed in the financial report of the development board.
Plans to build the facility were moved to St James after permission to build the hospital at the Mater was turned down.
The head of the Jack and Jill Foundation has described the plan to build the new national children's hospital at St James' Hospital as an "idiot" idea.
CEO of children's charity Jonathan Irwin said the campus for the centralised pediatric unit was unsuitable and would prove to be a "minefield".
He added he did not believe the new hospital would be delivered on target for 2018 and said the location should be changed to Blanchardstown Hospital which has more space.
