Children's hospital cost likely to pass €2bn amid tensions with contractor

A construction worker at the construction site of the new National Children's Hospital in Dublin. Picture: Brian Lawless/PA

The National Children's Hospital board is looking for significantly more capital funding as the project cost is expected to soar to as much as €2.2bn amid rising tensions with the main contractor.

A war of words has broken out over the level of progress on the build, with the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (NPHDB) claiming just 27 of 3,000 rooms have been "deemed complete" and these have a large number of "snags".