The National Children’s Hospital debacle looks set to continue well into the term of the new government, with no certainty over how much it will eventually cost or when it will open to young patients, according to Social Democrats TD Pádraig Rice.
Deputy Rice, who is the party’s spokesperson on health, said:
“We learned today that the potential cost of the National Children’s Hospital has soared by another €100 million in just a matter of months. The bill now stands at almost €2.5 billion, although no one truly believes that this will be the final figure.
“It is simply outrageous that, after repeated delays and scandalous budget overruns, we still don’t know exactly how much this financial behemoth is going to cost the taxpayer or, crucially, when it will start treating patients.
“We are led to believe that the hospital will be substantially completed by June – but there have been many other completion dates before that have been missed. How confident is the government that this latest date will be met?
“Even in a best-case scenario where the hospital is completed this summer, we are now told that children will not be transferred there during the winter for clinical reasons. This means it will be at least 2026 – notwithstanding further slippage – before children can be treated there.
“The National Children’s Hospital is not only the biggest ever capital investment in the health service, it is also the most botched capital project in the history of the State.
“We need time set aside in the Dáil to discuss this fiasco and for the new Minister for Health to publish the briefing she received on this project.
“The children of Ireland, and their families, have waited long enough.”
February 18, 2025