Committee of Public Accounts to discuss 2019 Financial Statements with National Paediatric Hospital Development Board

The meeting at 1pm in Committee Room 3 of Leinster House to discuss the Board’s 2019 Financial Statements will hear from David Gunning, Chief Officer; Phelim Devine, Project Director; Jim Farragher, Finance Manager; and Emma Curtis, Medical Director.

PAC Chairman Deputy Brian Stanley said: “The Public Accounts Committee’s most important role is to ensure value for money on how public monies are spent. The new National Children’s Hospital is the single biggest public capital spending project in the history of the State and is now projected to cost taxpayers at least €1.7billion, more than double the original budget.

“There is considerable public concern at the rising construction costs, disputes with the main contractor and the ongoing delays which mean we still do not know how much this critical project will ultimately cost or when the hospital will admit its first patients. The Committee looks forward to engaging with the Board’s representatives on its 2019 Financial Statements to see what we can learn from its past expenditure and how it relates to current projections for the hospital’s cost and completion.”

The meeting in Committee Room 3 can be viewed live on Oireachtas TV.

Committee proceedings can also be viewed on the Houses of the Oireachtas Smartphone App, available for Apple and Android devices.