Govt unable to clarify NCH bill or opening date, says SF

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has said she believes nobody in Government can say when the new National Children's Hospital will open its doors or what the final bill will be.

Ms McDonald said a confidential report for the HSE, which has questioned the operational readiness to commission and operate the new NCH, raises the question as to whether the hospital will even be able to open when the building work is complete.

"It was Simon Harris who gave the go ahead for the contract with BAM in 2017 and then in 2019 despite the big concerns and problems that had already emerged," she said.

Speaking during Leaders Questions, she added that the completion date has been delayed 17 times and the spending on the building has ballooned by €1.5 billion.

Minister for Public Expenditure Paschal Donohoe said when the hospital opens it will make a massive difference in the medical treatment of children.

Mr Donohoe told the Dáil that the hospital has been delayed due to decisions made by the contractor, adding that these delays are "unacceptable".

He said the hospital board is taking the right actions on behalf of the Government to challenge the contractor about these delays.

"We don't accept as sufficient or satisfactory where that project stands at the moment," he said.

Labour leader Ivana Bacik accused Mr Donohoe of posing as a bystander in the controversy around the delivery of the hospital.

She told Mr Donohoe that it was not for him to be angry and to comment as though he had no role, oversight or accountability.

"Your job is to take charge," she said.

Ms Bacik described the saga as an "unedifying psychodrama" playing out in letters to the press.

Mr Donohoe said the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board was acting on behalf of the Government by challenging claims and withholding some payments.

He said all difficulties had been acknowledged and learnings had been made.

Ms Bacik also said that Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly was nowhere to be seen.