LABOUR SHORTAGES MAY DELAY HOSPITAL

THE Dutch construction firm building the National Children’s Hospital has warned it might not be able to complete the project due to a shortage of workers in Ireland.

BAM building director Howard McDonagh said in an email released last week his firm was concerned that “there is now effectively full employment in Ireland”.

He added there were “a number of large-scale projects being planned which place impossible strains on labour resources to complete the hospital as planned”.

The company also raised concerns about the scale of the project.