Breathtaking design and State building rules cost children’s hospital dearly
Minister Donnelly admits mistakes in project with pricetag likely to top €2bn
HEALTH Minister Stephen Donnelly has admitted that the much-delayed National Children’s Hospital (NCH) is unlikely to start treating patients before the next General Election.
In July, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar told the Dáil the hospital development – which has been plagued by delays and cost overruns – could be open by the end of 2024.
In an interview with the Irish Mail on Sunday, Minister Donnelly said that he also hopes the hospital will finally be completed by the end of the year.
But he acknowledged the facility – which will be one of the most expensive hospital developments anywhere in the world – is unlikely to admit patients before the next General Election, which will be held in March 2025 at the latest.
This means TDs, many who will be fighting for their political survival, will not be able to highlight the hospital’s long-overdue opening as an achievement, to voters.
Mr Donnelly admitted mistakes have been made with the project, now expected to surpass €2bn.
He told the MoS: ‘There are definitely lessons to be learned, and I hope we have applied quite a number of them because, remember, we’ve got several new hospitals in the works now.
‘One of them, I think, is the design of the hospital. It is going to be breathtaking. I’ve been in it a few times, toured it – it is a beautiful design. The architecture is amazing. Much more importantly, the healthcare capacity in it really is world class… the corridor of operating theatres, which goes end to end in the hospital.
‘It’s something like 180 meters long, and each of the operating theatres is big.’
However, Mr Donnelly agrees the sumptuous design has been a significant factor in the snowballing cost of the project.
‘The design is very expensive. There’s a lot of glass, there’s a lot of curves. We’re not doing that with the electives [new hospitals], we’re not doing that with the National Maternity Hospital.
‘I made a point of looking at the designs for the National Maternity Hospital; it’s not that they won’t have any nod to aesthetics, but there are no big glass ovals. That is a very expensive thing to do with public money.’
To date, expenditure on what is set to become the world’s most expensive hospital has so far reached €1.4bn, but this is expected to easily surpass €2bn.
‘That’s very expensive to do with public money’
The State has been engaged in an extraordinary war of words with the main contractor, BAM, over soaring project costs.
The construction company has submitted extra claims of up to €750m, which threatens to escalate the overall cost to €2.2bn.
In order to prevent a repeat of the very public fallout between the board of the National Children’s Hospital and the developers, Mr Donnelly said national procurement rules and future EU rules must change.
He told the MoS: ‘In terms of contracting, I believe in public procurement, that past performance should be allowed to be factored into future contract awards.
‘And under the EU procurement rules, that’s very difficult to do.’
Mr Donnelly said nobody who was building a house or an extension to their home would hire a builder without checking into their previous work.
‘None of us would ignore past performance. And if somebody said: “I hear you’re thinking about getting the lads over there to do your extension, be aware; this is what happened in previous projects. They went way over, it was a really difficult relationship, it took far longer than anticipated.”
‘Would you hire the same contractor? Probably not.’
Mr Donnelly says the State must be allowed consider past performance when awarding contracts.
Under current rules, the lowest base price is the main criterion for consideration.
‘If we were allowed to consider those things [past performance], I think it might have been a different relationship,’ the Minister added.
‘The [National Children’s Hospital] board have publicly voiced their deep frustrations with how it’s gone. And in the interest of balance, the contractor has expressed deep frustrations with how they believe it has gone as well. So there are things we can do differently.’
Mr Donnelly blamed the huge delays and cost overruns associated with the project on the public procurement process, which he said ‘is not fit for purpose’.
He added: ‘It’s too complicated, it takes too long. There’s too many checks and counter checks, too many different groups, checking each other’s homework.
‘And, ultimately, all that happens is we add time, and nothing costs more money than extra time. So the very processes designed to give us value for money are, in fact, the very thing that guarantee we spend much more on these things than we should, and they take years longer than they should.’
‘Would we hire the same contractor? Probably not’