Offaly TD calls on Taoiseach to 'come clean' on children's hospital

Fianna Fáil Spokesperson on Public Expenditure and Reform, Barry Cowen, has expressed his frustration at the fact that funds will need to be found in the 2019 capital Budget for health and other departments to cope with the overspend on the National Children’s Hospital.

Deputy Cowen was commenting following a parliamentary question response which he says confirmed that €50m will have to come out of the 2019 capital allocation within health and a further €49 million will have to come from other departments.

Deputy Cowen explained: “The Taoiseach, the Minister for Health and the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform have continually failed to indicate how the explosion in costs at the National Children’s Hospital will be paid for. This is despite the fact that Minister Donohoe has confirmed that 50 million euro will need to be found in 2019 capital budget for Health and a further 49 million euro will be needed from the capital budget for other Departments."

"At this point, we have no indication of how this will impact other projects. It is €99 million now but it could be more, after all, we are still only in January and the hospital is a long way from completion. This whole affair has been shrouded in mystery from day one. In 2016 when the Taoiseach was Minister for Health the project was expected to cost €650 million, a year later that cost increased to €980 million. In September 2018, it was confirmed to me that the cost had increased further to just over €1 billion. Then in December just four months later the cost was increased to €1.4 billion. Now we are told that it could reach €1.7 billion. It’s farcical."

"It is crystal clear that other projects will be impacted and will not now be delivered when expected. Which projects will be impacted, the Government have failed to tell us. Will the €50 million come from the €567 million allocated to other hospital projects? It seems certain to me that capital investment in other hospitals will be delayed in 2019. The Minister for Health has confirmed that the capital plan for 2019, this year, has yet to be finalised. This is extraordinary stuff and you could not make it up," concluded Deputy Cowen.