Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has pledged that no projects will be scrapped to foot the bill for the controversial children's hospital build as he unveiled a €2.1bn HSE capital spending plan.

Tánaiste Simon Coveney has insisted “magic money” is not being used to pay for overruns for the children's hospital while pledging that cash will be found to fund the project.

Ms Clune is one of three sitting MEPs contesting Ireland South, with five seats up for grabs. But she was placed seventh in a Red C poll.

Labour leader Brendan Howlin says the spending by this government needs to be more carefully examined.

The Public Accounts Committee is seeking "immediate clarity" in any possible conflict of interest over professional services firm PwC which not only advised health chiefs on the children's hospital but also completed a review of the project.

So that’s Thursday nearly wrapped up. Here are some of the stories we published on irishexaminer.com today which we hope will help you make sense of it all this evening.

Here's your lunchtime bulletin.

Latest: Hospital projects across the country are under review because of the rising cost of the National Children's Hospital.

Construction costs for the facility have jumped to over €1.4 billion in recent months - and could increase further.

A toddler who was rushed to hospital choking on a popcorn kernel later sustained brain damage after she was misdiagnosed with croup cough and the kernel was not removed for three days.

The board of the National Children's Hospital has said the provision of fire sprinkler protection measures in the new hospital will exceed the number that is set out within fire safety legislation.

A shooter has opened fire at a school in the US state of Washington, killing one person and injuring at least three others.

Hospital waiting lists are out of control, consultants have claimed.

An Independent TD is seeking an all-party motion in the Dáil calling for the suspension of plans for the proposed Children's Hospital at the St James' site in Dublin.

A campaigner for a different site for the National Children's Hospital is voicing concern about the reported contract price for the project.

This is what Christmas is all about.

Staff at St James's Hospital in Dublin will face parking chaos today.

The new Minister for Health Simon Harris is being warned of increased costs for the National Children's Hospital.

In 2015 Yvonne Cahalane and her son two-year-old son, Tristan, relocated to Colorado to begin treatment for his epilepsy which uses cannabis oil. Briona Gallagher caught up with Yvonne, who still cannot believe the treatment isn't legal in Ireland.

Health managers who received controversial salary top-ups are set to keep them.

Visiting restrictions are in place at at Tallaght Hospital in Dublin due to an outbreak of flu.

Republic of Ireland captain Robbie Keane and his LA Galaxy teammates were on hand to visit sick children at Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital in Crumlin today.

The Minister for Health Leo Vardkar has said the new Children's Hospital will not be fully operational until 2020.

Concern has been expressed about cleanliness standards at the Neo-natal units at two Dublin hospitals.

An environmental study at the site of the proposed new Childrens Hospital at St James's in Dublin found no evidence of a grave, or any significant archeological feature.

The architect chosen to design the Children's Hospital at St James in Dublin has said he does not see any issues with the chosen site.

It is being claimed that a senior consultant at St James' in Dublin has outlined serious concerns about the proposed new National Children's Hospital.

The head of the Jack and Jill Foundation has said he has been sent two anonymous letters which he says proves the site of the new National Children's Hospital is inappropriate.

Children's charity Jack and Jill is calling on the Government to reconsider St James' Hospital in Dublin city centre as the location for the new National Children's Hospital.

Three adults and one child have been taken to hospital following a fire in Balbriggan in Dublin.

Clare Senior Hurlers visited Crumlin Children's Hospital this morning with the Liam MacCarthy Cup ahead of their Homecoming celebrations in Ennis tonight.

A seven-year-old boy remains in critical condition after he was pulled from a river yesterday evening in Co Cork.

A location for the new long-awaited National Children’s Hospital could be revealed as soon as tomorrow after it is discussed by the Cabinet.

The National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (NPHDB) has said a project delay of two and a half years can be expected should an alternative site to the Mater be chosen for the Children's Hospital.

Children's Minister Frances Fitzgerald said today that the new Children's Hospital will now be delivered after a lot of talk for years.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has today insisted that another independent report into the location of the new National Children's Hospital has not been commissioned.

A number of medical groups have come together to support proposals to build the new National Children’s Hospital on the Connolly Campus.

Sites in Blanchardstown and Belcamp in Dublin are not right for the new National Children's Hospital, according to the Master of the Rotunda hospital, Sam Coulter Smith.

The Minister for Transport Leo Varadkar has said he hopes a decision will be made on the site for the new Children's Hospital in the coming weeks.

The former head of the HSE Brendan Drumm says every year that the new Children's Hospital is delayed puts the project at risk.

Minister for Communications and Energy Pat Rabbitte has said the proposed new Children's Hospital will go ahead despite a delay in naming the Government's preferred location.

Construction on the new Children's Hospital and the new Rotunda Hospital on the Mater site is said to set the Exchequer back by around €477m.

Children's Hospital development board member, businesswoman Norah Casey, has repeated the Mater Hospital site as the best location for the new facility.

A leading oncologist has said that the new National Children's Hospital should be built at St James's Hospital in Dublin, and not at the Mater.