Senior ministers updated on the National Children’s Hospital (NCH) project are said to be “confident” that some patients will receive care in the long-delayed facility before the year is out, Cabinet sources have told the Irish Mail on Sunday.
The assessment comes as the Department of Health said this weekend that building work on the hospital — a project repeatedly hit by delays and spiralling costs — is expected to be finished by the end of August.
However, the department stopped short of giving a definitive date for when the €2.2billion-plus hospital will begin accepting its first patients.
Even so, the decision to put a firm timeframe on the completion of construction marks a notable shift, given the hospital has already missed 19 deadlines, seen projected costs almost treble, and become a major political burden for successive governments.
Responding to questions from the MoS, the Department of Health said contractor BAM’s “programme includes current indicative timelines that point to completion towards the end of the summer”.
BAM Ireland, the main contractor on the NCH development in Dublin’s south inner city, has frequently clashed publicly with the Government and the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (NPHDB)
BAM Ireland, which has overseen the NCH construction project in Dublin’s south inner city, has repeatedly been at odds with both the Government and the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (NPHDB), the organisation established in 2013 to design, build and fit out the hospital.
Relations with BAM are still understood to be deeply strained, with Cabinet sources telling the MoS that officials are preparing behind the scenes to blame the contractor if the hospital is not operational before the end of the year.
Asked if the completed construction date would allow the Department to provide a concrete date for the hospital’s opening, a spokesman would only say: ‘The programme provided by BAM is currently under review by the Employer’s Representative [NPHDB].
‘BAM’s programme includes current indicative timelines that point to completion towards the end of the summer.
‘However, this remains subject to validation and testing by the independent Employer’s Representative [NCH], a process that takes a number of weeks to complete. This is nearing completion.’
While the Department, headed by Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, stressed communications in relation to the hospital’s progress are between the NPHDB and BAM, some senior ministers are also being briefed on the project.
While Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill’s department stressed that communications in relation to the hospital’s progress are between the NPHDB and BAM, some senior ministers are also being briefed on the project
A Cabinet source told the MoS: ‘Since this hospital has cost €2.2billion to date and is politically explosive for so many of us, we receive frequent updates from the departments of Health and Public Expenditure.
‘And those briefings have confirmed this end of summer delivery date, which is, we are told, the end of August. From what we are told, though the hospital won’t be purring like a big engine, we are very confident that some patients could be receiving treatment at the NCH by December 2026.
‘Let’s put it this way, there is significant political pressure coming on the NCH board and BAM to have these deadlines – summer delivery and the December operational deadline – met.’
Despite the increased political pressure on deadlines, a number of senior Government sources this week said they have become aware of further problems that could further delay the hospital’s opening.
The Iirish National Children’s Hospital is now predicted to be open to patients towards the end of summer 2026
Cabinet sources said they understood there was a ‘problem with a floor’. While sources at the Department of Health said additional issues had emerged with the installation of a telecommunications system.
However, the Health Department categorically denied any new issues have arisen with the building.
A spokesman told the MoS: ‘The National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (NPHDB) and Children’s Health Ireland (CHI) have obtained early access to the first floor of the hot block and are currently installing equipment in this space.
‘This is progressing as planned and with no issues.
‘CHI has confirmed there are no emerging issues with the internal telecommunication systems.’
The initial budget for the NCH was €600milllion, which has snowballed to €2.2billion and is expected to climb further before all works have been completed.
