Hospital projects around country under review due to cost of children's hospital
Hospital projects across the country are under review because of the rising cost of the National Children's Hospital.
The government insists no capital projects will be cancelled but says there will be delays.
Health Officials were before another Oireachtas committee this morning to explain the massive increase in the cost of the new Children's Hospital.
Though at times it was tough going.
€100m extra will need to be found this year alone to fund the hospital.
Sinn Féin TD David Cullinane put the question to health officials this morning: "Is it possible that there will be some capital projects that will not go ahead as quickly as possible because of the overrun?"
Projects possibly impacted include the new Cath Lab in Waterford, a new MRI scanner in the Midlands Regional Hospital, the national radiation oncology programme in Cork and upgrade wards in Cavan.
Tánaiste Simon Coveney admitted that there would be some projects affected but that it was not yet known which ones.
But he said no project has been cancelled and there is a review ongoing.
Meanwhile back at the PAC Health Officials could not rule out that the hospital that was meant to cost €650m, will not end up with a price tag of more than €2bn.
The huge overspend of the National Children’s Hospital is going to have a serious impact on other projects over the coming years and there is massive concern in communities across Ireland about how this is going impact on projects that are badly needed - @davidcullinane pic.twitter.com/gyhywmPeLI
— Sinn Féin (@sinnfeinireland) January 31, 2019
Children's hospital board to face questions before PAC
Campaigners are calling for a complete rethink of the National Children's Hospital project.
The New Children's Hospital Alliance says the current site at St James's in Dublin is not fit for purpose.
The group is protesting outside Leinster House today, as the board of the National Children's Hospital faces questions before the Public Accounts Committee.
They will be asking how the board allowed the cost of the project to reach €1.7 billion.
Dr Fin Breatnach from the New Children's Hospital Alliance says a review of the project by PWC needs to calculate the cost of relocating the hospital.
"When their remit is defined by the government, the least they should do is price the costing of stopping the current building of the Children's Hospital on the James's campus and price the cost of building it on a greenfield site with a combined maternity hospital," said Dr Breatnach.
