Results 1-20 of 1,066,434 for in 'Dáil debates' OR (speaker:Tom Kitt OR speaker:Róisín Shortall OR speaker:Jennifer Murnane O'Connor OR speaker:Stephen Donnelly OR speaker:Brendan Griffin OR speaker:Verona Murphy OR speaker:Michael Collins OR speaker:Noel Grealish OR speaker:Thomas Byrne OR speaker:Ivana Bacik OR speaker:Mary Lou McDonald OR speaker:Bríd Smith OR speaker:Heather Humphreys) in 'Committee meetings'

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

Stephen Donnelly: I wish the Chair and our colleagues a good morning. I welcome the opportunity to provide an update on the completion of the new children's hospital. I am joined by Fiona Ross, Derek Tierney, Tracey Conroy; and Patrick Lynch. We are all here today with a single focus, which is to see the new children's hospital completed and open and supporting the delivery of the best care possible to...

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

Stephen Donnelly: Electionitis is definitely diagnosable but is, as of yet, untreatable. I thank Deputy Durkan for his support. Colleagues here and in the wider Oireachtas have a job to do in holding the Government to account, as they should and must do. What has been helpful, and I thank colleagues for this, is that while they have asked tough questions of me and the Government - as they must do and I am...

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

Stephen Donnelly: Yes.

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

Stephen Donnelly: Yes, I do.

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

Stephen Donnelly: Yes, that is the information we have.

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

Stephen Donnelly: The €500 million figure would be slightly off but the figure of €2.2 billion is correct.

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

Stephen Donnelly: I do not have an exact date but in the last number of weeks. It was after I met the board. With regard to the sequence of events I have not got the exact date.

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

Stephen Donnelly: I will give the committee a quick sequence of events so that colleagues have it. The Department was contacted by the board to signal that BAM had moved its completion date. Ms Ross and I met and on the back of that meeting I met with the full board. On the back of that I wrote to the Taoiseach, and subsequent to that I wrote to the chair of Royal BAM group.

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

Stephen Donnelly: Yes. This is all in the last two months or so.

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

Stephen Donnelly: I did.

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

Stephen Donnelly: They did not disagree.

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

Stephen Donnelly: No. The Deputy's first question was whether I had put it to them. It was not exactly as the Deputy has said, but I did make it very clear that the view of the Government and the view of the board was that the project-----

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

Stephen Donnelly: We had a very clear and forthright discussion. Just before the Deputy came back in I said that, yes, I had very clearly put it them that it is our view the project was consistently and substantially under-resourced. I did not use those exact figures but the same point the Deputy is making was very clearly delivered.

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

Stephen Donnelly: We had a very clear discussion about the under-resourcing. I just want to use my language carefully because I do not want to put words in the mouth of the chief executive of Royal BAM. I am very happy to say to the Deputy what I had put to him but I do not think it would be fair for me to say that he accepted or did not accept that. BAM have their own view and I imagine if the committee...

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

Stephen Donnelly: As it happens, the question the Deputy just asked me is more or less exactly the question I put to their chief executive, which was that BAM's UK-Ireland operation has missed its deadline 14 times and missed its deadline four times this year so why should I believe that June is not going to be the 15th missed deadline. I asked for Royal BAM to stand over that date. I said that I cannot have...

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

Stephen Donnelly: With the Cathaoirleach's permission can we take a bit longer? It is a charge the Deputy has made many times. I have no issue with the charge and I fully appreciate why the Deputy would make it. I will answer directly the Deputy's first question as to the timing of the meeting with Royal BAM. Then, rather than hearing from me about my involvement in the project, I will ask Ms Ross, as the...

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

Stephen Donnelly: That is why. With the Chair's permission, I will ask Ms Ross to give a view as well.

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

Stephen Donnelly: May I respond? With respect, it is a charge the Deputy has made many times. I answered it here directly and I have answered it many times.

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

Stephen Donnelly: I did. I have no problem doing so and I do not blame the Deputy for asking the question. This is the chair of the board's first appearance before the committee. The Deputy has made the charge many times. It is not reasonable to suggest that asking for the board's view on the Deputy's challenge is inappropriate.

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

Róisín Shortall: The development board has been before the committee several times, as the Minister will be aware, and it has appeared before the Committee of Public Accounts several times. Both committees have been utterly frustrated for a long time, because every time the board came to speak to us, its members were throwing their hands in the air and seemed completely helpless. There was a stand-off...