Exciting new updates are in store for the National Children’s Hospital, but unfortunately, completion will be further delayed. The Public Accounts Committee will be briefed on the latest developments, with the hospital not expected to be substantially completed by the end of October as previously anticipated.
The National Paediatric Hospital Development Board has reported a delay in the substantial completion date, pushing it back to 29 October. This means that the commissioning process will also take several more months, causing concerns among some TDs that no children will be treated at the hospital until 2026.
Despite a budget approval of €2.24bn by the Government last February, ongoing delays are leading to cost increases on the project. The board is working tirelessly to apply all contractual levers to expedite the completion process, but doubts remain about their ability to meet the desired timeline.
Initially projected to cost around €800m a decade ago, the new hospital will boast 6,000 clinical spaces, 380 in-patient bedrooms, and 22 operating theatres once completed.