National Children's Hospital partially opens for CHI staff five years after expected opening

Health minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, left, and HSE CEO Bernard Gloster, centre, inspect the National Children's Hospital, which partially opened on Monday. Picture: Instagram

Part of the new National Children’s Hospital was opened on Monday, giving early access to staff from Children’s Health Ireland (CHI) some five years after the hospital was expected to open.

This came as the HSE service plan for 2026, published on Monday, stated it expects full completion of the hospital next year. 

Starting from Monday, teams can begin deep-cleaning and bringing clinical equipment into the building, CHI said.

It described the early access area at the level six ward block as “limited”, but said staff “truly appreciate every opportunity to start work that helps prepare the hospital for opening”.

Photographs shared on the CHI Instagram account show health minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill and HSE CEO Bernard Gloster in the space. They are still wearing hard hats and hi-vis clothing for safety purposes.

Children’s Health Ireland CEO Lucy Nugent and other officials were also present.

“Full commissioning will begin once the hospital reaches substantial completion and is formally handed over,” Children’s Health Ireland said.

It estimated the full commissioning “will take a minimum of seven months”.

“We will transform the building into a fully operational hospital, and prepare our staff to care for the children and young people we serve,” it said.

Visitors to the new National Children's Hospital had to wear hard hats and hi-vis clothing for safety purposes. Picture: Instagram

The construction is being overseen for the State by the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board.

CHI said it will work with this board “to secure further early access wherever possible”.

Delays in construction and completion of the site have been much talked-about with growing frustration, especially in recent months. 

Disputes between the board and the construction firm,  BAM, have been publicly aired, with both sides defending their positions.

In August, the health minister raised concerns timelines would not be met and queried the number of workers on the site. BAM did not accept concerns about staffing and other issues.

A projected cost of €650m when the hospital was first talked about over a decade ago has now soared to an estimated €2.2bn at least.

Satellite clinics of the new hospital in Tallaght and at Connolly Hospital are already open.