Hardiman confident of National Paediatric Hospital by 2018
The head of the Children's Hospital Group has said that she is confident the National Paediatric Hospital will open its doors in 2018.
Planning permission was previously rejected for the hospital at the Mater Hospital site in Dublin, but the group says it is confident that the new hospital will secure planning permission next year.
Clearing of the site at St. James's Hospital in Dublin is underway and construction is set to begin once planning permission is secured.
CEO of the Children's Hospital Group, Eilis Hardiman, said that they are confident they will get planning permission at the new site.
"There's two elements of planning," she said.
"Ffirst is the healthcare planning - so the right place for it to go is on the St. James's site because of all the benefits to children, and collocation benefits of 32 sub-specialties.
"The next element of planning of course is the urban planning. Now the reason why it didn't get through the last time is (because) there is over-densification of the site.
"This is a very different site actually - it's twice the size of the Mater site."
