Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 17 November 2020
798. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health the position regarding the national children’s hospital; the estimated timeline for delivery; the estimated cost to date; the estimated final cost; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36795/20]
View answerUnder the contract, the new children's hospital is due to be completed by the end of 2022 and handed over to Children's Health Ireland to open in 2023 after a period of commissioning. There will be delays associated with the requirement to cease works on the site of the new Children’s Hospital due to Covid-19 restrictions. As of March 2020, when the site closed due to Covid-19, the NPHDB was of the view that the Main Contractor was behind schedule on the construction works.
The current overall capital build cost of the project is €1,433 m. This includes all of the capital cost for the main hospital at St James's Hospital campus which will house the school and third level educational spaces, the two Outpatient Department and urgent care centres at Connolly and Tallaght Hospital campuses, equipment for the three sites, and the construction of the carpark and retail spaces.
The € 1.43bn figure on capital cost as set out above does not take account of the impact of COVID on the construction sector, including the NCH.
In addition to the capital project there is a broader programme of activity associated with the integration and transfer of the services of the three children’s hospitals to the new sites under development. This includes investment in ICT, an Electronic Health Record system, the Children's Hospital Integration Programme (the merging of three paediatric hospitals), pre-2013 project expenditure relating to the former Mater project, and the planned construction of the Children’s Research and Innovation Centre to be funded through philanthropic funding. The inclusion of these elements alongside the capital build account for a total overall project cost of €1.73 billion.
The PwC report makes clear that the Guaranteed Maximum Price established through the two-stage tender process does not provide a contractual ceiling on cost and significant residual risks remain of further cost. The residual risks, for which there cannot be cost certainty, include items such as construction inflation, claims and certain uncontrollable risks, such as potential costs relating to Brexit.
The NPHDB is continuing to engage with the Main Contractor to obtain an updated programme of works that is in line with its contractual commitments. At this point it is still too early to fully assess the final time or costs impact of the pandemic on the project.
