The Minister for Health must initiate High Court action against BAM, the only option remaining to her, to compel the delivery of the National Children\u2019s Hospital, according to Social Democrats health spokesperson P\u00e1draig Rice.<\/p>\n
Deputy Rice, who chairs the Oireachtas Health Committee, said:<\/p>\n
\u201cToday was the day that the hospital should have been handed over, but instead, we have the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board before the Public Accounts Committee telling us that they don\u2019t know when it will be completed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is another devastating setback for the country’s sickest children, their families and hospital staff, all of whom have been let down repeatedly during this relentless cycle of missed deadlines.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the end of March, the NPHDB informed the Health Committee that the 18th substantial completion deadline for the National Children\u2019s Hospital would be missed. We were told by the Chief Executive of the Development Board that BAM had 15 days to respond with a new date.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s now been over a month, and we\u2019re still waiting on a new date.<\/p>\n
\u201cSuccessive Ministers for Health have repeatedly been given the runaround by BAM – and this Minister is no different.<\/p>\n
\u201cDespite BAM\u2019s repeated assurances, we know that there is nowhere near the number of workers on site required to push this crucial project over the line anytime soon.<\/p>\n
“Although this point has been made many times, it still stands. At the heart of this issue is the contract signed by Simon Harris when he was Minister for Health. It is an utterly flawed contract.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt does not contain the legal mechanisms needed to force BAM to fulfil its obligations, and this is now widely acknowledged.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn March, the NPHDB told the Health Committee that the contract contains no levers for them to demand an increase of workers on sites, while in February, Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill told the Committee that, essentially, there is nothing more she can do other than ask BAM to step up and deliver the hospital.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd while I agree that the contract provides the Minister with few other options, she needs to look elsewhere. That is why I am again calling on the Minister to take legal action.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe existing dispute mechanisms are clearly inadequate, and they have already been exhausted. The Minister must now initiate High Court proceedings to compel BAM to provide enough workers on site.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese proceedings, which would not be lengthy, are the only way to ensure BAM steps up to the plate and ensures that the necessary resources are provided to deliver this hospital at the nearest possible date.\u201d<\/p>\n
April 30th, 2026<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Minister for Health must initiate High Court action against BAM, the only option remaining to her, to compel the delivery of the National Children\u2019s Hospital, according to Social Democrats health spokesperson P\u00e1draig Rice. Deputy Rice, who chairs the Oireachtas Health Committee, said: \u201cToday was the day that the hospital should have been handed over, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":16408,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[649,642,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17572","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national-childrens-hospital","category-padraig-rice","category-press-release"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n