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National Children's Hospital Expenditure

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 12 February 2019

Tuesday, 12 February 2019

Questions (358)

Peadar Tóibín

Question:

358. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Health the preparation undertaken to ensure that the chain of command for administering the procurement and building of the national children's hospital project was prepared, skilled and stress tested in order to prevent spiralling cost overruns. [6340/19]

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Written answers

Established under the National Paediatric Hospital Development (Establishment) Order 2007, the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (NPHDB) has statutory responsibility for the planning, designing, building and equipping of the new children’s hospital and outpatient and urgent care centres.

Notwithstanding the NPHDB's clear statutory responsibility for the construction of the hospital, because of the range of other elements to the overall programme to relocate services to the new hospital once commissioned, and the need for appropriate oversight of all inter-related service and capital elements of the programme, in 2017 revised governance structures were approved by Government and put in place to oversee and monitor progress on the children's hospital project and integration programme. The Children's Hospital Project and Programme (CHP&P) Steering Group, chaired by the Deputy Director General of the Health Service Executive was established to direct the overall programme of work. This Steering Group reports to the CHP&P Board, chaired by the Secretary General of my Department, which oversees and monitors progress on the project and programme.

Government approved the commissioning of an independent review of the escalation in cost in determining the adjusted contract sum in relation to the new children’s hospital. This independent review has been commissioned by the HSE and is being undertaken by PwC. The review will be completed by the end of March, subject to availability of relevant documentation and personnel and will inform any governance or other changes required. The review will establish the sequence of events in relation to the cost increases experienced by the project; establish what was known, when and by whom, and the reporting of relevant information from the project team to the relevant oversight and governance bodies including NPHDB Board and also its Committees, the HSE and the Department of Health. The review will comment not just on the major residual risks and the robustness and completeness of the current forecasts, but also identify and where possible quantify those risks contractually excluded from the Guaranteed Maximum Price. The terms of reference also require the review to develop any further recommendations which may identify any areas of potential cost savings or reductions, which are consistent with the applicable contractual undertakings and the delivery of the project, in light of its current status, address major residual risks, control and oversight issues and bring greater oversight of performance and value for money.

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