Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 21 September 2023
1. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health if a handover and substantial completion date on the new Children’s Hospital has been agreed between the Development Board and the developer; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40785/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraA minute's reflection is very long. We never quite make it. That was about 15 seconds.
My first question relates to the national children's hospital. Related issues have now come to light in respect of children's healthcare, which I will raise shortly. My fundamental question is whether a handover date has been agreed between the board and the developer. Can the Minister of State confirm what that new handover date for the children's hospital will be?
The Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, unfortunately cannot attend this morning as he is at the United Nations. The Minister of State, Deputy Butler, and I will take some of his questions.
Timely completion of the new national children’s hospital, NCH, is a Government priority. Everything is being done to ensure it is completed as soon as possible. It is 90% complete against contract value. Substantial completion is informed by the main contractor's, BAM, programme outlining how and when it will complete the last 10%. The last programme update received from BAM suggested substantial completion could be achieved by May 2024. Frustratingly, construction progress has been significantly behind BAM’s programme. After months of engagement with BAM, an updated programme was submitted on 18 July. This is currently under review by the employer’s representative to determine compliance with the contract. The employer’s representative is the independent body responsible for enforcing the contract. The programme outlines how BAM proposes to complete the more than 40,000 separate activities required to finish the project. Given this welcome level of detail, it will take time to verify and validate.
The National Paediatric Hospital Development Board, NPHDB, has been clear that it will not be commenting on any details until the employer’s representative has determined it to be a compliant programme. This includes any potential updates to the substantial completion date. Once construction is complete, the hospital will be handed over to Children’s Health Ireland, CHI, for commissioning. This will ensure the hospital is ready for patients and staff and is expected to take at least six months.
In advance of the handover, the pre-commissioning phase is already well advanced to ensure the smooth, safe and efficient transition of services to the new children’s hospital. This includes a significant body of work to integrate the three hospitals from a clinical and operational perspective, and the build of a digital hospital system and a new electronic healthcare record system. There remains a shared ambition among all parties to see the NCH opened as soon as possible for the benefit of children and families. To achieve this, the Minister for Health urges and expects BAM to resource and deliver against its own programme.
It is quite incredible that we still do not know what the handover or completion date will be and, even though an updated programme of works has been submitted to the board, that date has not been made public. It is in the public interest to do so, given all the controversies relating to this issue. We know that one of the big advantages of the new national children's hospital will be protected surgeries, especially for children with scoliosis and spina bifida. The Minister of State will know that there is now a major controversy at Temple Street hospital where services have been suspended. That has taken place not only at Temple Street but at Cappagh hospital. I also find it incredible that the Minister for Health left the country knowing this scandal was going to break and, it seems, did not inform either the Taoiseach or Tánaiste about the seriousness of these issues.
We have demanded statements in the House on that very important issue, which we need to have as quickly as possible. We should have had them today but now more than ever, given what has happened at Temple Street, we need this hospital built as quickly as possible. It is in the public interest for the Minister of State and the Minister to tell us what the new completion date is and when this hospital will be open.
I reassure the Deputy that the Minister will come before the House next Tuesday regarding that issue. I reiterate the importance of the completion of the children's hospital. The NPHDB, which entered into the construction contract with BAM on behalf of the State, is doing everything it can to hold the contractor accountable for its delivery programme. There is continuous engagement between officials within the Department of Health, the HSE, the NPHDB and Children's Health Ireland. The Secretary General of the Department has recently written to BAM setting out his expectations of BAM to complete the hospital without delay. The Minister has also directly engaged with the NPHDB, the CHI chairs and the chief officers on the project so that he can be assured everything possible is being done. It is to be welcomed that all stakeholders have expressed a shared ambition to achieve this completion date as quickly as possible. However, I will reiterate and pass on the Deputy's concerns to the Minister.
I cannot accept that everything possible has been done given that under freedom of information, FOI, requests and information submitted to me, we found out that the Minister did not meet with the board for the entirety of 2022, or for the first and second quarters of 2023. He had informal conversations with representatives of the board, which is not acceptable given the seriousness of these issues. There is not a person outside this Chamber who has any confidence in this Government's ability to deliver this project on time and at cost. Nobody. The Government has completely lost control of it, as has the Minister, and given the seriousness of the issues he should be having regular meetings with the board. Even now, an updated programme has been submitted to the board despite the fact Oireachtas health committee members, who will meet next week, asked that we would get that programme when the board got it. We are all, the public and the Opposition, being kept in the dark. It is just incredible that we still cannot be told when the public will be informed of the new completion date and what that completion date will be.
I assure the Deputy this is an absolute priority for the Minister and the Government. As I said, there is continuous engagement between departmental officials, the HSE, the NPHDB and CHI. The Secretary General has written to BAM outlining his expectations around the completion date. We will keep the Deputy updated on this matter. It is an absolute priority.
