Tánaiste: Hospital delays an attempt by contractor to extract 'more money from the Irish people'

Micheál Martin said the blame for the shifting completion date and the rising cost of the construction lay with BAM and not the Government

It emerged this week the hospital will not begin admitting patients until August 2025 at the earliest, although this date could not be guaranteed by BAM.

The Tánaiste has said the ongoing delays in relation to the National Children's Hospital are part of a strategy by the hospital contractor to "extract more funding and more money from the Irish people".

Micheál Martin told the Dáil he would not "take the bait" on the issue, saying the Government would ensure the taxpayer gets value for money while delivering the completed hospital as quickly as possible.

He said the blame for the shifting completion date and the rising cost of the construction lay with BAM and not the Government.

Mr Martin was responding to accusations from Sinn Féin TD Pearse Doherty that the Government and the health minister have been "asleep at the wheel" when it comes to the long-awaited hospital.

It emerged this week the hospital will not begin admitting patients until August 2025 at the earliest, although this date could not be guaranteed by BAM.

Mr Doherty was critical of the rising cost of the construction of the hospital, which has gone from an initial estimate of €650m and has since increased to over €2.2bn.

He noted Stephen Donnelly did not meet with the National Paediatric Health Development Board (NPHDB) at all in 2023.

"He thinks it's somebody else's problem. But the cheques keep on getting written and children keep on getting denied the hospital that they deserve," said Mr Doherty.

He accused the Government of having lost all control in relation to the cost and delivery of the project, calling it a slow-moving car crash.

However, Mr Martin said in his view Mr Doherty was being used as a pawn — inadvertently or not — in where the contractor wanted things to go.

"The contractor has been delaying, has not been resourcing the project properly or comprehensively, is hoping there will be this kind of engagement in Dáil Éireann to keep pressure on the Government and politicians to yield a bit quicker," said Mr Martin.

He said the Government would not roll over into contractual engagements with BAM, noting that out of 2,782 claims submitted by the contractor, the Government had arbitrated 2,182 at a value of €785m.

While it is vital that the hospital is delivered as quickly as possible, Mr Martin said they would not tell BAM it needed to be finished "at any cost".

Mr Doherty said eight years into the project, the children waiting for the hospital could not believe a word that came from the Government because every single target has been surpassed.

There are 251 children with scoliosis still waiting on life-altering operations, who Taoiseach Simon Harris promised would not wait more than four months for their treatment, he said.

"A broken promise and they need that hospital more than anyone," Mr Doherty said.

The Tánaiste said there was no doubt the new hospital would be transformative compared to what we currently have but said we should not lose sight of the significant advancements that had been made so far.