Réada Cronin
Question:424. Deputy Réada Cronin asked the Minister for Health the final projected cost of the new National Children's Hospital; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45561/24]
View answerThursday, 7 November 2024
Questions (424)
Written answers
On 13 February 2024, Government approved enhanced capital and current budget sanctions for the New Children’s Hospital (NCH) project and programme, bringing the total approved budget to €2.24billion.
Included in this is the capital budget of €1.88 billion for designing, building and equipping the NCH and the two satellite centres. A separate €362 million budget is in place for the programme of integration and transition of services to the NCH, including commissioning, ICT, and the Electronic Health Record system.
This approved increase in the capital budget addresses long-standing additional budget requirements not included within the original budget and set out in the 2019 PwC report, including the impact of construction inflation greater than 4%, impacts to supply chains arising from the pandemic and other global events, and the contractor’s right to claim for additional true costs in line with public works contract provisions.
The Government considers that the project now has sufficient funding to address identified risks and see the hospital completed and opened.