{"id":1661,"date":"2021-08-25T10:40:39","date_gmt":"2021-08-25T09:40:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.socialdemocrats.ie\/cag-to-audit-national-maternity-hospital-spending\/"},"modified":"2021-08-25T10:40:39","modified_gmt":"2021-08-25T09:40:39","slug":"cag-to-audit-national-maternity-hospital-spending","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.socialdemocrats.ie\/ga\/cag-to-audit-national-maternity-hospital-spending\/","title":{"rendered":"C&AG To Audit National Maternity Hospital Spending"},"content":{"rendered":"

It is extraordinary that \u20ac51m has already been spent on this project \u2013 before any final decision that it will proceed at the Elm Park site<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Spending on the new National Maternity Hospital will be examined as part of an audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG), according to Social Democrats co-leader R\u00f3is\u00edn Shortall.<\/p>\n

The revelation was made in correspondence received by Deputy Shortall from the C&AG, Seamus McCarthy, after she wrote to him expressing serious concerns about the rapidly escalating costs of the project.<\/p>\n

In her letter, Deputy Shortall said her concern related to three separate issues \u2013 a huge increase in spending in the absence of any final decision on the location of the new hospital; the lack of a business case for the project having been produced contrary to the public spending code; and the apparent failure to consider the requirement for a deep energy upgrade to be incorporated in the project.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn December 2018, the then government undertook expenditure of an estimated \u20ac20m on a new pharmacy, car-park and enabling works at Elm Park, in preparation for the proposed move of the NMH to that campus. In the intervening period, this initial expenditure has now risen to in excess of \u20ac51m, without obvious further formal approvals, without clarity about the ownership of the site upon which these building works are taking place and notably without clarity regarding whether the larger project will proceed or not.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn respect of the requirement for adherence to the public spending code regarding a number of business cases to be produced for a major capital project, no business case at all has been completed at this point.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is my understanding that a new National Maternity Hospital, if built, will be required to meet the stringent EU energy NZEB Directive. Because of this, a deep energy upgrade to the building is likely to be required. This will add substantially to the cost of the new building. The hospital was estimated in 2018 to cost \u20ac300m. The latest departmental estimate is for \u20ac800m for build and fit-out, excluding the energy upgrade.\u201d<\/p>\n

In response, Mr McCarthy said his office was currently finalising the plan for an audit of HSE financial statements.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe plan includes audit testing on a sample of capital\u00a0 expenditure projects and it is intended to examine the spending on this project as part of that audit. Any issues arising from the audit will be evaluated and at that stage I will consider whether there is merit in carrying out a value for money special report,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Welcoming the announcement, Deputy Shortall said \u201cit is extraordinary that \u20ac51m has already been spent on this project \u2013 before any final decision that it will proceed at the Elm Park site and in the absence of any business case for such an enormous financial spend.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have seen, with the children\u2019s hospital, what happens when budgets for capital projects spiral out of control. We cannot allow the same financial chaos engulf the new maternity hospital.<\/p>\n

“This is public money and the highest standards of rigorous financial planning and oversight must apply to every penny that is spent.\u201d<\/p>\n

25 August, 2021<\/p>\n

Ends<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It is extraordinary that \u20ac51m has already been spent on this project \u2013 before any final decision that it will proceed at the Elm Park site Spending on the new National Maternity Hospital will be examined as part of an audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG), according to Social Democrats co-leader R\u00f3is\u00edn Shortall. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1288,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,7,264],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1661","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","category-press-release","category-roisin-shortall"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nC&AG To Audit National Maternity Hospital Spending - Social Democrats<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.socialdemocrats.ie\/cag-to-audit-national-maternity-hospital-spending\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"ga_IE\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"C&AG To Audit National Maternity Hospital Spending - Social Democrats\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It is extraordinary that \u20ac51m has already been spent on this project \u2013 before any final decision that it will proceed at the Elm Park site Spending on the new National Maternity Hospital will be examined as part of an audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG), according to Social Democrats co-leader R\u00f3is\u00edn Shortall. 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