Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 17 June 2025
806. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health the number of completion dates offered to the NPHDB by the main contractor regarding the NCH, to outline each date; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32073/25]
View answerThe timely completion of the New Children’s Hospital (NCH) is a Government priority. Everything possible is being done to ensure this world-class hospital will open as quickly as possible, on behalf of children, young people, and their families.
Construction has advanced to over 95% complete against the contract value. Technical commissioning is well underway by the main contractor, BAM, and it is working through the staged-process for completing rooms to the requisite standards.
The National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (NPHDB) has advised that it and the Employer’s Representative (ER) - the independent, third-party administrator of the contract, received an updated programme of works from BAM, on the evening of 21 May 2025. This programme has an indicative substantial completion date of 30 September 2025.
This is the 15th time the substantial completion date has been extended by the contractor and the 5th time it has done so since the beginning of 2024. The NPHDB has been and continues to apply all possible contractual levers available to it to ensure substantial completion can be achieved with minimal further delays.
The table below sets out BAM’s movement of its substantial completion dates, as advised by the NPHDB.
The original contractual completion date was August 2022, but mechanisms within the public works contract allow for extensions of time to be granted for legitimate delays suffered by the contractor. The current contractual completion date after agreed extensions of time are incorporated is currently November 2022. Based on BAM’s current programme for substantial completion by 30 September 2025, this represents a 37 month delay on the current contractual completion date.
Timeline of programme delays from August 2022*
|
BAM Baseline Programme & Monthly Progress Updates against Programme |
BAM forecast Substantial Completion date |
Programme Delay from August 2022* *(original contractual completion date.) NB contract date has since moved to November 2022 |
|
January 2019 – GMP Programme (ER Compliant) |
August 2022 |
|
|
March 2020 |
February 2023 |
6 months |
|
February 2021 – Amended GMP Programme (ER Compliant) |
December 2023 |
16 months (+10 months on previous update) |
|
May 2021 |
January 2024 |
17 months (+1 month on previous update) |
|
January 2022(Baseline – ER Non-compliant) |
January 2024 |
17 months |
|
July 2022 |
February 2024 |
18 months (+1 month on previous update) |
|
August 2022 |
March 2024 |
19 months (+1 month on previous update) |
|
January 2023(Baseline– ER Non- Compliant) |
April 2024 |
20 months (+1 month on previous update) |
|
February 2023 |
May 2024 |
21 months (+1 month on previous update) |
|
July/September 2023(Baseline– ER Non- Compliant) |
October 2024 |
26 months (+5 months on previous update) |
|
January 2024 |
December 2024 |
28 months (+2 months on previous update) |
|
March 2024 |
January 2025 |
29 months (+1 month on previous update) |
|
April 2024 |
February 2025 |
30 Months (+1 month on previous update) |
|
September 2024 |
June 2025 |
34 Months (+4 months on previous update) |
|
May 2025 |
September 2025 |
37 Months (+3 months on previous update) |
