Elaine Loughlin: Children's hospital is in a quagmire — and nobody knows just how much it will cost

€2bn of taxpayer's money isn't the only thing swallowed up, as there's no sign of even basic information about the project

Work proceeding at the National Children's Hospital site in James Street Dublin. Picture: Colin Keegan/Collins

When €2bn of taxpayer’s money is being doled out, it’s unacceptable that the entire National Children’s Hospital process has become a murky quagmire that has swallowed up even basic information.

The estimated overall cost, which has repeatedly spiralled upwards, is just that — a guesstimate — as the board, the health minister, and the Department of Health have all refused to say where the final cost of the hospital might end up.