The State will contest any attempt by BAM to inflate the cost of the building the new Children’s Hospital, the Health Minister has promised.
When it was first commissioned in 2017, the cost of the hospital was estimated at €980.
Eight-years on and 14 delays later, the price tag has surged to €2.24 billion - a figure that includes commissioning costs.
The Department of Health has since been told construction company BAM will seek an additional €853 million to finish the job.
On Newstalk Breakfast, Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill said extra charges have been sought “all the way through” the construction process.
“It doesn’t mean they got it,” she said.
“The State has contested all of those claims and, of the figure that they sought, it’s been at €48 million out of €853 million sought.
“So, their style has been to put in further and further claims - that doesn’t mean that the State is paying it.
“We will continue to contest those claims.”
New National Children's Hospital to cost more than 1.43 billion euro, © PA Archive/PA ImagesMinister Carroll MacNeill said while the construction process will likely be finished this year, the commissioning of health services means it will not be ready for patients until 2026.
“I do think it will be after March 2026 and it’s really important to be aware that the commissioning will take six to nine months,” she said.
“So, that could be as early as December 2025, it is clinically not advised to move children during the winter period.
“I think the earliest moment is late March next year - even if it’s ready before that, it’s not necessarily clinically advisable.”
In a statement to Newstalk, BAM said is only seeking costs that are “fairly due” to them.
“Recommendations from the independent conciliator are binding on the parties unless subsequently overturned in Court,” a spokesperson said.
“The conciliator’s decision in May 2024 to award BAM €107m and a 13-month extension to the completion date dealt with all claims for the time period it covered, December 2019-February 2023 and removed any element of duplication.”
Once completed, the National Children’s Hospital will provide 17,000 extra outpatient appointments and facilitate 30,000 emergency visits a year.
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