Government approves €1 billion funding for children’s hospital

THE Government has today approved funding for the $1 billion National Children’s Hospital at St James’s, with work expected to commence on the controversial project within a matter of weeks.

The Minister for Health, Simon Harris, said the investment would allow the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board to award the construction contracts for the building of the main children’s hospital on the St James’s Hospital campus and the two Paediatric Outpatients and Urgent Care Centres on the Tallaght and Connolly Hospitals campuses.

According to Minister Harris, today’s decision means that the project can proceed without delay.  

“Today is a huge step forward for the children’s hospital project, ending years of doubt as to whether it would ever be built,” he said. “Today, there is no more doubt – this hospital will be built.”

He added: “Our children have waited a long time for this new hospital but there is light at the end of the tunnel now. Site clearance work, which began last year, is almost complete and so we’ll start building works in the next few weeks.

“I anticipate that the new hospital, which will serve all of the children of all Ireland, will open in 2021, with the two Outpatient and Urgent Care Centres at Tallaght and Connolly opening well in advance at the end 2018 and the first quarter of 2019.”

Today’s announcement was welcomed by the National Paediatric Development Board (NPHDB) and the Children’s Hospital Group Board (CHGB).

Senator Catherine Ardagh (FF) also welcomed the decision by the Government to give full and final approval to the National Children’s Hospital.

“For too long, this project has been subject to delay after delay, and the people who have suffered from these delays have been the children of Ireland who have been waiting for a custom-built children’s hospital for decades,” she said.

The news will come as a further blow to those who had been campaigning for the children’s hospital to be located at Connolly in Blanchardstown.