Hospital board ‘cannot handle project’

THE board set up to drive the development of the proposed €650 million national children’s hospital does not have the expertise to handle such a crucial and large-scale project, according to its former chair.

John Gallagher, who resigned as chair of the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board in March, outlined his lack of confidence in the board’s make-up in a letter to Health Minister Dr James Reilly, obtained under FOI legislation by the Irish Examiner.

On March 9, less than three weeks before his resignation, Mr Gallagher urged Dr Reilly to either let the Health Service Executive “formally take over the running of the project”, using its own internal experts, or to alter the composition of the board to include members with expertise in large-scale construction and with the financial acumen to oversee large-scale capital expenditure.