Results 61-80 of 1,073,595 for in 'Dáil debates' OR in 'Committee meetings' (speaker:Tom Kitt OR speaker:David Stanton OR speaker:Ivana Bacik OR speaker:Johnny Guirke OR speaker:Seán Sherlock OR speaker:Jennifer Carroll MacNeill OR speaker:Willie O'Dea OR speaker:Seán Crowe OR speaker:Patrick O'Donovan OR speaker:Pádraig Mac Lochlainn OR speaker:Colm Brophy OR speaker:Peadar Tóibín OR speaker:Michael McNamara OR speaker:Mairead Farrell OR speaker:Chris Andrews OR speaker:Matt Carthy OR speaker:Stephen Donnelly)

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Children’s Hospital: Discussion (9 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: I will reserve judgment on that until Ms Ross, Mr. David Gunning and the team-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Children’s Hospital: Discussion (9 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: Because we need to see the change. It is all well and good for me and the global chief executive to meet and commit to an improved approach to this, but I want to see the change. Ms Ross and I will be staying in regular contact. I want to see the change. I want to see a programme of work in which David Gunning, Fiona Ross and all the board, acting on our behalf, will be able to say that...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Children’s Hospital: Discussion (9 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: Yes, that is exactly it. It has been a very open point of dispute between the board and the contractor on an ongoing basis.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Children’s Hospital: Discussion (9 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: I think three things are relevant to children being treated in this hospital. First, there was commitment to the commissioning teams going in early. That is something that had not been agreed and can accelerate the opening of this hospital, potentially by several months. That is important. I acknowledge that BAM has said it will facilitate this and make it happen. That had not been...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Children’s Hospital: Discussion (9 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: It is an extraordinary facility. I believe we need to keep a very clear focus on next year. If Royal BAM and BAM UK and Ireland can hand us the keys in June 2025, we have been consistently told by CHI that there is a minimum six-month commissioning phase. We are looking to accelerate some of that process. As the Deputy will appreciate, nobody can give a precise deadline, but I think we...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Children’s Hospital: Discussion (9 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: I do not think we should be going there. I think we need to keep the focus very much on 2025.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Children’s Hospital: Discussion (9 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: Well, they are telling us-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Children’s Hospital: Discussion (9 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: I appreciate where the Deputy is coming from-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Children’s Hospital: Discussion (9 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: -----but it is very important that we do not start talking about 2026. It is extremely important that we keep talking about 2025. Armies of people are on site and involved in commissioning to that effect. Just before I ask Mr. Lynch to come in on this, I wish to acknowledge the workers on site.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Children’s Hospital: Discussion (9 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: Even though the project may be resourced at what we believe is half what it should be, nonetheless, a large number of very dedicated people are working day and night to build what looks like will be the finest children's hospital in the world. What an extraordinary thing that is for a little country like us to be saying. Those workers have been building the hospital in the context of huge...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Children’s Hospital: Discussion (9 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: -----and it is not their fault. I thank the Chair for his latitude on the time, so I acknowledge the women and men working on that site day in and day out, in winter and summer and in rain, hail, sleet and snow. I thank them for the work they are doing. They have been building this incredible facility for our nation and they have been doing it in a context where all they hear about,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Children’s Hospital: Discussion (9 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: They really have been working very hard. It is not the fault of anyone on site-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Children’s Hospital: Discussion (9 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: -----that the resourcing has not been where we want it to be. I acknowledge that fact. If the Chair is happy, I ask Mr. Lynch to come in on the issue of the commissioning and to provide some detail in this regard.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Children’s Hospital: Discussion (9 Oct 2024)

Seán Crowe: One of the questions I had concerning the commissioning is that we know not one room or space has been finished and signed off on. How, therefore, can the commissioning happen with that background? How can that happen when the rooms are clearly not finished? Last week, I asked about MRI machines, CT machines and other similarly very expensive machines. Will this aspect be prioritised in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Children’s Hospital: Discussion (9 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: I thank Senator Conway for that. I will ask Mr. Lynch to come in with some of the detail but at a high level-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Children’s Hospital: Discussion (9 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: Okay, I will give the Senator the high level detail and then I might come back to Mr. Lynch regarding the likely time saved. There is an area in the hospital which they call the hot block. This is the laboratories, emergency department, theatres and intensive care floor. For obvious reasons, this is where an awful lot of the time has to be spent. The clear view is that it is on the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Children’s Hospital: Discussion (9 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: It is not possible to say if it will be Friday, Friday week or Friday fortnight.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Children’s Hospital: Discussion (9 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: I want to give BAM Ireland and UK, Royal BAM Group and the board the space they need to come back with a proposal that everybody can stand over. It would not be helpful at this point to say that it will be Friday week or Friday fortnight or to give a specific date.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Children’s Hospital: Discussion (9 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: I do not believe we have a couple of months.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Children’s Hospital: Discussion (9 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: This has to be done urgently.