Harris says sorry for not giving Dáil more detail over costs
SIMON Harris has ‘sincerely’ apologised over an answer he gave to the Dáil about the overspend at the National Children’s Hospital project.
The Health Minister yesterday apologised for information he gave about the costs, saying he should have answered it ‘more fully’.
He told the Dáil yesterday he was not in a position to give commercially sensitive figures at the time. ‘It has never been my intention to mislead the Dáil,’ he said.
‘I should have added further detail to inform that a process was ongoing to find out the cost and that updated costs would be known when that process concluded.
‘I sincerely apologise for not doing this and I specifically apologise to [Fianna Fáil TD] Mr [Barry] Cowen who tabled the question. I have always tried to approach my work in this house, especially as Health Minister, in a collaborative way.’
The estimated cost of the new hospital in Dublin has risen from an original estimate of €650million to more than €1.7billion.
The minister said an inquiry set up to assess the overruns will provide a report by the end of next month. Mr Harris added: ‘It will not be found wanting when it comes to acting against any entity or any company if errors were made. Lessons must and will be learned and Cabinet took a number of decisions in that regard today.’
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar sat beside Mr Harris as he delivered his ‘mea culpa’, which acknowledged that the past number of weeks in the Oireachtas have been dominated by debate and discussion regarding the hospital. Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said it was extraordinary to hear Fianna Fáil complain about the gargantuan cost overrun, and then resolve to back the minister against her party’s motion of no confidence, now expected next week.
Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin, in reply, accused Sinn Féin of behaving like a gunslinger in a Clint Eastwood movie, riding into town and always reaching for a motion of no
confidence from their holster.
Ms McDonald described Mr Harris’s record as shambolic. Her party demanded his removal, she said.
‘The record of the Minister for Health is not a great one. It’s not even a good one. It is, truth be told, a shambolic one,’ she said.
‘Because whatever you might think, Taoiseach, or whatever the Fianna Fáil leader might think, we have a prevailing crisis across the health service and it is crystal clear that the Minister for Health is utterly incapable of resolving the myriad of issues at hand.’
Ms McDonald complained that ‘no-one being held to account’ regarding the overrun on the hospital project, adding: ‘Fianna Fáil may well be prepared to sit on their hands... We won’t.
‘The minister’s record demands a little bit more than an apology. The minister must be removed from his position.’